Anti-cd14 antibody fusion protein

ABSTRACT

A protein comprising (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof and (II) an inhibitor for a protease, or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof is provided.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/791,888, filed May 30, 2007, which is the National Phase of PCT/JP2006/311255 filed on Jun. 5, 2006. This application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a) to Patent Application No. 2005-164901 filed in Japan on Jun. 3, 2005. The entire content of each of the above-identified applications is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a novel protein comprising an anti-CD14 antibody and a protease inhibitor; a polynucleotide coding for the novel protein; a method for producing the novel protein; and medical use of the novel protein for sepsis and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Sepsis is defined as a disease which has infectious cause and which shows the pathology of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (see Non-Patent Document 1). Initial symptoms found include ague, sweating, fever, and decrease in the blood pressure, and when various inflammatory mediators and blood coagulation factors increase in the whole body, disturbance in the microcirculation occurs, and this results in the worsening of the pathological conditions including tissue and organ failures, which often lead to continuous onset of multiple organ failure or septic shock resulting in the death.

Onset of the sepsis is triggered by action of the components constituting the infectious bacteria, for example, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram-negative bacteria and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in Gram-positive bacteria with leukocyte (monocyte/macrophage and neutrophil) or vascular endothelial cell, which in turn causes production of various inflammatory mediators. Recent studies revealed that CD14 which was first found as a differentiation antigen of leukocyte (see Non-Patent Document 2) and Toll-like-receptors (TLR) which are accepted to be pattern recognition molecules in the innate immune system (see Non-Patent Document 3) play an important role in such activation of the target cell by the bacterial constituent components.

CD14 is present in two forms, namely, in membrane-bound form and soluble form. The membrane-bound form CD14 is anchored to cell membrane by glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol, and the soluble form CD14 includes the one synthesized in liver and the one present in blood after cleavage on leukocyte by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase (see Non-Patent Document 4). For example, activation of the target cell by LPS is caused by binding of the LPS to the CD14 promoted by catalytic action of LPS-binding protein (LBP) in blood and the subsequent binding to the TLR on the cell membrane which results in the transduction of the activation signal to the target cell. The target cell which has received the activation signal produces and expresses various mediators related to inflammatory response, for example, cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-8 and tissue factors. The cytokine which is a typical mediator activates neutrophil and macrophage, and this causes adhesion to vascular endothelium, migration in the tissue, release of neutral proteases such as neutrophil elastase, and production of reactive oxygen species. Activation of the coagulation and fibrinolytic system, activation of the complement system, and activation of kallikrein also contribute for this process. As described above, a large number of mediator molecules and effector molecules are involved at the molecular level and the cell level with the formation of the pathology, and excessive promotion of these reactions results in the systemic damage, which leads worsening of the pathology from the microcirculatory disturbance to the tissue failure and organ failure as described above.

In order to cope with the sepsis exhibiting such complicated pathology, many studies have been conducted on the therapeutic agents. The approaches employed in developing the therapeutic agents may be divided into two major categories, namely, the approach of inhibiting the action of the bacterial constituent component which is the substance responsible for the onset of the sepsis, and the approach of inhibiting various factors which are expressed as the biological response to the signal of the substance responsible for the onset of the sepsis.

The therapeutic approaches of inhibiting the action of the endotoxin from Gram-negative bacteria include (1) the method using an anti-endotoxin antibody (see Non-Patent Documents 5 and 6); (2) the method using an endotoxin antagonist (see Non-Patent Document 7); (3) a method using polymixin B (see Non-Patent Document 8); and (4) a method using BPI (see Non-Patent Document 9). Endotoxin is a component constituting Gram-negative bacteria, which is not found in the Gram-positive bacteria and fungi which are responsible for the sepsis. Accordingly, sepsis agents targeting the endotoxin are associated with the problem that they cannot cope with the bacteria and fungi other than the Gram-negative bacteria.

A sepsis agent which targets on CD14 which functions as a receptor for LPS which is a substance constituting Gram-negative bacteria has also been proposed. Since CD14 has been found to be not only the receptor for the LPS but also a receptor for a bacterial constituent such as lipoteichoic acid and peptidoglycan which are the constituents of Gram-positive bacteria (see Non-Patent Document 10), it is indicated that the sepsis agent targeting the CD14 is applicable not only to the Gram-negative sepsis. The agents that have been proposed include anti-CD14 antibodies (See Patent Documents 1 and 2) and soluble CD14 (see Non-Patent Document 11 and Patent Documents 3 and 4). These agents, however, are not yet used in practice. The pathology of sepsis has been estimated to be sequential and complex development from the stage triggering the inflammatory response with the constituent of the pathogen to a more serious stage. The drawback of the CD14 targeting agents is that, since action of these agents focuses on the early triggering stage of the pathology formation, dubiousness remains on the effects on the more serious late stage of the pathology.

In the meanwhile, of the therapeutic approaches of targeting the excessively produced factors, the therapeutic methods of inhibiting a cytokine or other inflammatory mediators include (1) the method using an anti-TNF antibody (see Non-Patent Document 12), (2) the method using a soluble TNF receptor (see Non-Patent Document 13), (3) the method using an IL-1 receptor antagonist (see Non-Patent Document 14), (4) the method using an PAF inhibitor (see Non-Patent Document 15), and (5) the method using an NO inhibitor (see Non-Patent Document 16). Although these therapeutic methods have demonstrated their effectiveness in the stage of experimental animals or in small scale clinical tests, their effectiveness and usefulness are not clearly revealed in the stage of large scale clinical test. As described above, cytokine and other inflammatory mediators each have a plurality of activities, and these mediators constitute a complicated network and various events occur in this network in which each mediator complements other mediators and induces the expression of other mediators. Therefore, it has been estimated that treatment made by inhibiting one factor has some limitation (see Non-Patent Document 17).

Also proposed is the therapeutic approach which targets blood coagulation factors whose production is enhanced in the process of the interaction of mediators associated with the generation of the pathology of the sepsis. The blood coagulation factors are believed to be included among the important targets of the therapeutic agent since enhancement of the blood coagulation invites disturbance in the blood microcirculation system, which in turn invites decrease in the amount of oxygen supplied to the peripheral tissue, tissue failure, and even multiple organ failure. Exemplary methods include (1) a therapeutic method using an activated protein C (see Non-Patent Document 18), (2) a therapeutic method using an antithrombin III (see Non-Patent Document 19), and (3) a therapeutic method using a TFPI (see Non-Patent Document 20). Among these, the treatment of severe sepsis using activated protein C has been demonstrated to have a significant therapeutic effect in a large scale clinical test (see Non-Patent Document 21), and this treatment has been offered for clinical use. However, this treatment has great clinical limitation that it is contraindicated for patients having bleeding tendency.

-   [Patent Document 1] JP 2744130 B -   [Patent Document 2] WO 02/42333 -   [Patent Document 3] JP 10-512142 A -   [Patent Document 4] WO 01/72993 -   [Non-Patent Document 1] The ACCP/SCCM Consensus Conference     Committee. Chest, 1992, 101, 1644-1655. -   [Non-Patent Document 2] Goyert S. M. and Ferrero E., in McMichael A.     (ed.): Leukocyte Typing III. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1987. -   [Non-Patent Document 3] Zhang G. and Ghosh S., Endotoxin Res., 2000,     6, 453-457. -   [Non-Patent Document 4] Stelter F., Structure/Function relationship     of CD14; in Jack R. S. (ed.): CD14 in the Inflammatory Response.     Chem. Immunol. Basl, Karger, 2000, 74, pp. 25-41. -   [Non-Patent Document 5] Ziegler E. J., et al., New Engl. J. Med.,     1991, 324, 429-436. -   [Non-Patent Document 6] Greenman R. L. et al., JAMA, 1991, 266,     1097-1102. -   [Non-Patent Document 7] Kawata T. et al., Prog Clin Biol Res., 1995,     392, 499-509. -   [Non-Patent Document 8] Tani T. et al., Artif. Organs, 1998, 22,     1038-1045. -   [Non-Patent Document 9] Lin Y. et al., Antimicrob. Agents     Chemother., 1996, 40, 65-69. -   [Non-Patent Document 10] Cleveland, Infect Immun., 1996, 64,     1906-1912. -   [Non-Patent Document 11] Goyert S. M., J. Immunol., 1995, 154,     6529-6532. -   [Non-Patent Document 12] Fischer C. J. et al., Crit. Care Med.,     1993, 21, 318-327. -   [Non-Patent Document 13] Fischer C. J. et al., N. Engl. J. Med.,     1996, 334, 1697-1702. -   [Non-Patent Document 14] Fischer C. J. et al., JAMA, 1994, 271,     1836-1843. -   [Non-Patent Document 15] Dhainaut J. F. et al., Crit. Care Med.,     1994, 22, 1720-1728. -   [Non-Patent Document 16] Gachot B., Intensive Care Med., 1995, 21,     1027-1031. -   [Non-Patent Document 17] Vincent J. L. et al., CID, 2002, 34,     1984-1093. -   [Non-Patent Document 18] Rivard G. E. et al., J. Peditr., 1995, 126,     646-652. -   [Non-Patent Document 19] Fourrier F. et al., Chest, 1993, 104,     882-888. -   [Non-Patent Document 20] Abraham E. et al., Crit. Care Med., 2000,     28, S31-33. -   [Non-Patent Document 21] Bernard, G. R. et al., N. Engl. J. Med.,     2001, 344, 699-709.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In view of such situation, the inventors of the present invention noticed that a novel protein produced by binding an anti-CD14 antibody and a protease inhibitor would solve the problems associated with prior art techniques, and confirmed its effectiveness by producing such novel protein. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel protein comprising an anti-CD14 antibody and a protease inhibitor; a polynucleotide coding for such novel protein; a method for producing such novel protein; a preventive and/or therapeutic agent for sepsis comprising such novel protein.

Means for Solving the Problems

Next, typical aspects of the present invention are described below. A first aspect of the present invention is a novel protein comprising (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof and (II) an inhibitor for a protease or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof. More specifically, the novel protein of this aspect is

(1) a protein comprising (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof and (II) an inhibitor for a protease, or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof, (2) the protein according to (1) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is a protein inhibitor, (3) the protein according to (1) or (2) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is a multivalent enzyme inhibitor, (4) the protein according to any one of (1) to (3) wherein the protease in (II) is a blood coagulation factor (a blood coagulation protease) or an inflammatory protease, (5) the protein according to any one of (1) to (4) wherein the protease in (II) is FXa and/or FXIa, (6) the protein according to any one of (1) to (4) wherein the protease in (II) is thrombin, (7) the protein according to any one of (1) to (6) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is derived from UTI, (8) the protein according to any one of (1) to (6) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is derived from thrombomodulin, (9) the protein according to any one of (1) to (6) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is derived from UTI domain 2, (10) the protein according to any one of (1) to (8) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is derived from functional domain, especially EGF-like domain, of thrombomodulin, (11) the protein according to any one of (1) to (4) wherein the protease in (II) is elastase, (12) the protein according to any one of (1) to (4) and (11) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is a secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, (13) the protein according to any one of (1) to (11) wherein the inhibitor in (II) is a mutant of UTI domain 2 with 1 to 4 amino acid substitutions, (14) the protein according to any one of (1) to (13) wherein the anti-CD14 antibody in (I) is an antibody which has neutralizing activity, (15) the protein according to any one of (1) to (14) wherein the anti-CD14 antibody in (I) is one which recognizes at least a part of amino acid Nos. 269-315 of human CD14, (16) the protein according to any one of (1) to (15) wherein the anti-CD14 antibody in (I) is a chimeric antibody, (17) the protein according to any one of (1) to (16) wherein the anti-CD14 antibody in (I) is a humanized antibody, or (18) the protein according to any one of (1) to (17) wherein the anti-CD14 antibody in (I) is one comprising CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the heavy chain described in Table 2 as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 in the heavy chain variable region, or CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the light chain described in Table 2 as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the light chain variable region.

A second aspect of the present invention is a polynucleotide which codes for at least a part of the protein according to the first aspect. More specifically, the polynucleotide of this aspect is

(19) a polynucleotide which codes for at least a part of the protein according to any one of (1) to (18).

A third aspect of the present invention is a vector which comprises the polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention. More specifically, the vector of this aspect is

(20) a vector which comprises the polynucleotide of (19).

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a cell which comprises the polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention or the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention. More specifically, the cell of this aspect is

(21) a cell which comprises the polynucleotide of (19) or the vector of (20).

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a method for producing the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention which uses at least one of the polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention, the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention, and the cell according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. More specifically, the method of this aspect is

(22) a method for producing the protein according to any one of (1) to (18) which uses at least one of the polynucleotide of (19), the vector of (20), and the cell of (21).

A sixth aspect of the present invention is a preventive and/or therapeutic agent for a disease comprising at least one of the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention, the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention, and the cell according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. More specifically, the preventive and/or therapeutic agent of this aspect is

(23) a preventive and/or therapeutic agent for a disease comprising at least one of the protein of any one of (1) to (18), the polynucleotide of (19), the vector of (20), and the cell of (21), or (24) the preventive and/or therapeutic agent according to (23) wherein the disease is sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock, SIRS related disease, endotoxin shock, or ARDS.

Effects of the Invention

The novel protein of the present invention is effective for a disease or a pathology, or a specific symptom or therapeutic index associated with such disease or pathology, to which use of the anti-CD14 antibody or the protease inhibitor alone is ineffective or insufficiently effective. This protein simultaneously exhibits a stable in vivo anti-inflammatory action, anticoagulant action, and/or elastase inhibitory action, and therefore, it is useful as a preventive and/or therapeutic agent for sepsis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 123) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 124) of the heavy chain variable region of antibody F1024.

FIG. 2 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 125) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 126) of the light chain variable region of antibody F1024.

FIG. 3 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 127) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 128) of the heavy chain variable region of antibody F1031-13-2.

FIG. 4 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 129) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 130) of the light chain variable region of antibody F1031-13-2.

FIG. 5 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 131) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 132) of the heavy chain variable region of antibody F1031-13-2.

FIG. 6 shows the DNA sequence (SEQ ID NO: 133) and the amino acid sequence (SEQ ID NO: 134) of the light chain variable region of antibody F1031-13-2.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 2 and 22) of fusion protein F1024D-D1D2.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 4 and 22) of fusion protein F1024D-D2.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 6 and 22) of fusion protein F1024D-D2(3).

FIG. 10 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 8 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-D1D2.

FIG. 11 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 10 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-D2.

FIG. 12 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 12 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-D2(3).

FIG. 13 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 14 and 22) of fusion protein F1024D-SLP1(D1D2).

FIG. 14 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 16 and 22) of fusion protein F1024D-SLP1(D2).

FIG. 15 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 18 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-SLP1 (D1D2).

FIG. 16 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 20 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-SLP1 (D2).

FIG. 17 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 24 and 26) of fusion protein F1031-13S-D2(3).

FIG. 18 is a view showing suppressive activity of F1024 (anti-CD14 antibody) or antibody fusion proteins in the production of IL-6 by the LPS-stimulated U373MG cell.

FIG. 19 is a view showing suppressive activity of F1024 (anti-CD14 antibody) or antibody fusion proteins in the production of IL-6 by the LPS-stimulated U373MG cell.

FIG. 20 is a view showing suppressive activity of antibody fusion proteins in the production of IL-6.

FIG. 21 is a view showing trypsin inhibitory activity of the proteins derived from UTI and anti-CD14 antibody fusion proteins.

FIG. 22 is a view showing Factor Xa inhibitory activity of anti-CD14 antibody fusion proteins.

FIG. 23 is a view showing Factor XIa inhibitory activity of anti-CD14 antibody fusion proteins.

FIG. 24 is a view showing elastase inhibitory activity of anti-CD14 antibody fusion proteins.

FIG. 25 is a view showing plasma kallikrein inhibitory activity of anti-CD14 antibody fusion proteins.

FIG. 26 is a view showing the effect of fusion protein F1024S-D2(3) on improving the survival rate of the LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model.

FIG. 27 is a view showing the effect of fusion protein F1024S-D2(3) on leukocyte count in LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model (leukocyte count at 28 hours after the initial administration of the LPS in the LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model).

FIG. 28 is a view showing the effect of fusion protein F1024S-D2(3) on platelet count in LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model (platelet count at 26 hours after the initial administration of the LPS in the LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model).

FIG. 29 is a view showing the effect of fusion protein F1024S-D2(3) on decrease in antithrombin (AT)III activity in LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model (decrease in antithrombin (AT)III activity at 28 hours after the initial administration of the LPS in the LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model).

FIG. 30 is a view showing the improvement of decrease in blood pressure by the fusion protein F1024S-D2(3) in the LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model.

FIG. 31 is a view showing the experimental results of competitive binding to antibody F1024.

FIG. 32 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: (residues 474-543), 12 (residues 474-543), 46 through 49, and 27 through 45) of modified UTI domain 2 of fusion protein F1024-D2.

FIG. 33 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: (residues 474-543), 12 (residues 474-543), 50 through 68) of modified UTI domain 2 of fusion protein F1024-D2.

FIG. 34 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: (residues 474-543), 12 (residues 474-543), 69 through 87) of modified UTI domain 2 of fusion protein F1024-D2.

FIG. 35 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: (residues 474-543), 12 (residues 474-543), 88 through 106) of modified UTI domain 2 of fusion protein F1024-D2.

FIG. 36 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 215 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-D2(4)(R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D).

FIG. 37 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 107-108) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 38 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 109-110) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 39 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 111-112) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 40 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 113-114) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 41 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 115-116) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 42 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 117-118) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 43 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 119-120) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 44 shows the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 121-122) of modified functional domain of TM in fusion protein F1024-TM.

FIG. 45 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 216 and 22) of fusion protein F1024S-TM23456L.

FIG. 46 is a view showing thrombomodulin activity of modified functional domains of TM in fusion protein F1024S-TM.

FIG. 47 is a view showing the structure of the total amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 217 and 218) of humanized F1024S-D2(3).

FIG. 48 is a view showing the amino acid sequences of the heavy (SEQ ID NO: 219) and light (SEQ ID NO: 223) chain variable regions of F1024-1-3 rat antibody; and the amino acid sequences of human antibodies having a high homology with the heavy (SEQ ID NOS: 220-222) and light (SEQ ID NOS: 224-226) chain variable regions of humanized F1024S-D2(3).

FIG. 49 is a view showing the amino acid sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 219, 227-233) which are capable of expressing the heavy chain of the humanized antibody and maintaining the binding activity.

FIG. 50 is a view showing the inhibition of bradykinin production in human plasma induced by APTT reagent.

FIG. 51 is a view showing the inhibition of bradykinin production in rabbit plasma induced by APTT reagent.

FIG. 52 is a view showing the inhibition of thrombin production in human plasma induced by thromboplastin.

FIG. 53 is a view showing the inhibition of thrombin production in rabbit plasma induced by thromboplastin.

FIG. 54 is a view showing time course of the inhibitory action of F1024S-D2(3) on the LPS-induced TNF-α production in rabbit whole blood after the administration of the F1024S-D2(3).

FIG. 55 is a view showing time course of APTT after administration of F1024S-D2(3) to the rabbit.

FIG. 56 is a view showing time course of survival rate after administration of F1024S-D2(3) to rabbit cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model.

FIG. 57 is a view showing D dimer levels in plasma after administration of F1024S-D2(3) to rabbit cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) model.

FIG. 58 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide Y46E of the present invention.

FIG. 59 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide Q19K of the present invention.

FIG. 60 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide Q19R of the present invention.

FIG. 61 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide Q19K/Y46E of the present invention.

FIG. 62 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide R11E/Y46E of the present invention.

FIG. 63 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide Q19R/Y46E of the present invention.

FIG. 64 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptides Q19K/Y46D and Q19R/Y46D of the present invention.

FIG. 65 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptides R11Q/Q19K/Y46D, R11D/Q19K/Y46D and R11L/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention.

FIG. 66 is a graph showing FXa-inhibiting activity of polypeptide R11E/Q19K/Y46E of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, the present invention is described in further detail.

The protein according to the first aspect of the present invention is not particularly limited for its type. Exemplary proteins include simple protein (or polypeptide) and complex protein (for example, glycoprotein).

In the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the binding mode between (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof and (II) an inhibitor for a protease or its active fragment, or a derivative thereof is not particularly limited. Although (I) and (II) are generally linked by covalent bond, they may be linked, for example, by chemical means (chemical synthesis or chemical conjugation) or genetic engineering. The protein according to the first aspect of the present invention is preferably a fusion protein produced by genetic engineering.

The protease inhibitor (II) may be the one which binds to either one or both of the heavy chain and the light chain of the antibody. Typically, the protease inhibitor (II) is fused to the heavy chain, especially C terminal side of the heavy chain of the antibody. The number of protease inhibitor (II) molecules linked to the antibody is not particularly limited, and either one or two or more molecules may be linked to the antibody. If desired, the linkage may be accomplished by using an appropriate linker or spacer. Such method, the linker, the spacer, and the like are well known to those skilled in the art, and typical examples are described in the Examples.

In the protein of the present invention, active fragment of the anti-CD14 antibody (I) or the protease inhibitor (II) is a fragment which comprises a part which is capable of expressing or retaining at least one of the activities or functions inherent in the anti-CD14 antibody (I) or the protease inhibitor (II), and comprises the active region or functional domain. In the protein of the present invention, the derivative of the anti-CD14 antibody (I), the protease inhibitor (II), or the active fragment thereof is the anti-CD14 antibody (I), the protease inhibitor (II), or the active fragment thereof which includes some modification, mutation, or addition, for example, the one which comprises other chemical substance (such as polyethylene glycol), or the one which is associated with mutation such as addition, deletion, insertion or substitution of at least one, and preferably one to several amino acids. In other words, the derivatives of (I), (II), and active fragments thereof include mutants, modified forms, and modification products of the (I), (II), and active fragments thereof, and they are capable of expressing or retaining at least one, and preferably all of the activities or functions inherent in the anti-CD14 antibody (I), the protease inhibitor, or the active fragment thereof.

The protein according to the first aspect of the present invention expresses or retains at least one, and preferably all of the activities inherent in each of the anti-CD14 antibody (I), and the protease inhibitor (II). Since the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention has at least one, and preferably all of the activities inherent in each of the anti-CD14 antibody (I), and the protease inhibitor (II), it is effective in the disease or the pathology, or the specific symptom or therapeutic index associated with such disease or pathology, to which use of the anti-CD14 antibody (I) or the protease inhibitor (II) alone is ineffective or insufficiently effective.

In the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the protease inhibitor (II) is not particularly limited, and it may be a nonprotein inhibitor or a low molecular weight compound. The protease inhibitor (II), however, is preferably a protein inhibitor.

Although the protease inhibitor (II) may also be the one which is specific to a particular enzyme, the protease inhibitor (II) is preferably a multivalent enzyme inhibitor which inhibits two or more enzymes. Exemplary substances having multivalent enzyme inhibitory action include Kunitz-type protease inhibitors such as urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI), secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), and aprotinin, among which the preferred are UTI, SLPI, and TFPI.

UTI is a protease inhibitor which is the same as bikunin or ulinastatin, and it is an inhibitor for proteases such as trypsin, plasmin, and neutrophil elastase.

SLPI is an inhibitor for proteases such as neutrophil elastase and cathepsin.

TFPI is a protease inhibitor which is also referred to as lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) or extrinsic pathway inhibitor (EPI). TFPI binds to blood coagulation factor Xa (FXa) to inhibit factor VIIa—tissue factor (factor III) complex to thereby suppress the initiation of the extrinsic blood coagulation.

Other multivalent enzyme inhibitors include α2-macroglobulin (α2-MG), antithrombin III (ATIII), and α1-antitrypsin (α1-AT). α2-MG is a plasma protein with a huge molecular weight of about 770,000, and inhibits thrombin, FXa, plasmin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase, and the like. ATIII forms a complex with a serine protease such as FXa or thrombin at a ratio of 1:1, to thereby control the coagulation. ATIII has a heparin binding domain at its N terminal and a reactive site with thrombin at its C terminal, and the anti-thrombin activity of the ATIII increases by a factor of about 1000 by binding to the heparin. α1-AT is a glycoprotein comprising 394 amino acids, and the molecular weight is 51000. α1-AT inhibits various serine proteases including thrombin, plasmin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase.

The protease inhibitor (II) in the protein of the present invention is preferably an inhibitor which has an inhibitory action for a blood coagulation factor (blood coagulation protease) including the factor which induces anticoagulant action or bradykinin production, especially an inhibitory action for activated blood coagulation factor, or an anti-inflammatory action or an inhibitory action for inflammatory protease. Typical blood coagulation factors include kallikrein, thrombin, FVa, FVIIa, FVIIIa, FIXa, FXa, FXIa, FXIIa, and FXIIIa, and among these, kallikrein, thrombin, FVa, FVIIIa, FIXa, FXa, FXIa, and FXIIIa are the important factors, and thrombin, or FXa and FXIa are the most important target enzymes. Typical inflammatory proteases include elastase, trypsin, chymotrypsin, and cathepsin, and among these, elastase, and in particular, neutrophil elastase and pancreatic elastase, especially neutrophil elastase, are the important target enzymes. The protease inhibitory activity of the protein of the present invention or the inhibitor (II) in the protein of the present invention may be measured by various known materials and methods, and typical examples are described in the Examples.

The inhibitor having the anticoagulant action or the inhibitory action for a blood coagulation factor may be a substance known in the art. Examples include TFPI, ATIII, α1-AT, and α2-MG; and UTI and thrombomodulin (TM); their active fragments, and derivatives thereof, and the preferred are TM or UTI, their active fragments or derivatives thereof, and the more preferred are the functional domain of TM or the UTI domain 2 (UTI-D2) having inhibitory activity for FXa and/or FXIa, or their modified forms, especially the mutant with 3 amino acid substitutions (UTI-D2(3)). The amino acid sequences and the nucleotide sequences of the UTI, UTI-D2, and UTI-D2(3) and their production methods are described in JP 5-84083 A, JP 5-308988 A, JP 6-25289 A, and JP 6-321989 A, and they can be produced by referring to such documents.

Thrombomodulin (TM) is one of the anticoagulants produced by vascular endothelial cell, and when TM forms a complex with thrombin on the cell membrane, protein C will subsequently be activated and the blood coagulation will be suppressed. TM was discovered in 1981, and this substance which is present on the vascular endothelial cell converts thrombin from the coagulation enzyme to an anticoagulation enzyme. TM also directly inhibits the thrombin activity and promotes the activation of the protein C(PC), and the resulting activated protein C (APC) contributes for the negative feedback of the blood coagulation cascade by inactivating activated blood coagulation factor V (FVa) and factor VIII (FVIIIa) to thereby suppress the generation of the thrombin. In other words, TM inhibits both the coagulation activity and the fibrinolytic activity in a manner dependent on the thrombin. Since this action does not require antithrombin III in contrast to the case of heparin, this process is understood to involve less risk of promoting the bleeding tendency.

Since the amino acid sequence of the TM and the nucleotide sequence coding for such amino acid sequence, and the domain structure and the function of the TM are known (for example, Kurosawa, S, Supplementary volume of Progress in Medicine (in Japanese), “Blood Disease-State of Arts (Ver.2)”, 1998, pp. 205-207), preparation of the TM, its active fragments and derivatives used in the present invention and evaluation of their activity may be carried out by referring to such publications as JP 1-6219 A and WO 88/5053. TM comprises 5 domains, namely, lectin-like domain, Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain, O-linked glycosylation domain, transmembrane domain, and cytoplasmic domain from the extra-cellular N terminal (Kurosawa, S. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 263, 5993, 1988), and among these, the EGF-like domain comprises 6 repeating units (this domain is sometimes also referred to as EGF1-6 or TM123456 in the present invention). The minimal active unit is assumed to be the fourth to sixth repeating units of the EGF-like domain, namely, the EGF4-6.

Examples of the preferable active fragments, the derivatives, and the functional domains of the TM include EGF-like domain; active fragments of TM comprising the EGF-like domain or their derivatives; active fragments of the EGF-like domain or their derivatives, which may preferably be EGF4-6, more preferably EGF3-6, and most preferably EGF2-6; active fragments of TM comprising such part or their derivatives, for example, active fragments of the TM or their derivatives prepared in the Examples, especially TM23456M, TM234567M, or their active fragments or derivatives. Preferable examples of the derivatives include a mutant (M388L) in which methionine at amino acid No. 388 of TM has been replaced with leucine, and these are TM23456L and TM234567L. The production and the evaluation of such derivatives may be accomplished by the methods known in the art, and typical examples are described in the Examples.

Various inhibitors are known to have anti-inflammatory action or inhibitory action for inflammatory protease. Although various known inhibitors may be used, the most preferred is elastase inhibitor. Typical examples include UTI, UTI-D2, SLPI, α1-AT and α2-MG and their active fragments or derivatives; and preferable examples are UTI, especially modified UTI domain 2 having elastase inhibitory activity, for example, a mutant of UTI-D2 with 3 amino acid substitutions, a mutant of UTI-D2 with 4 amino acid substitutions (also referred to as UTI-D2(4)), and SLPI, especially the downstream part of the SLPI (the polypeptide at the C terminal). The amino acid sequence, the nucleotide sequence, and the production method of SLPI and the downstream part (the polypeptide at the C terminal) are described in JP 6-80697 A, and the like, and the publication may be used as a reference.

Typical examples of the mutants of the UTI-D2 with 3 or 4 amino acid substitutions are shown in Table 9 of Example 7, and the most preferred is UTI-D2(4) (R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D).

The modified UTI domain 2 having the inhibitory activity for FXa and/or FXIa and the elastase inhibitory activity, specifically UTI-D2(3), is most preferred.

In the protein according to the first aspect of present invention, the anti-CD14 antibody is not particularly limited as long as it binds to CD14, and preferably, to human CD14. In the protein of the present invention, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) acts synergistically with the protease inhibitor, and improves the function or the effect of the protein or the inhibitor. The anti-CD14 antibody (I) in the protein according to the first aspect of present invention is not limited by the presence or the absence of the CD14 inhibitory action. However, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is preferably an antibody which has the CD14 inhibitory action. The term “CD14 inhibitory action” used herein is the action of inhibiting at least one of the functions of the CD14, for example, binding ability with LPS, interaction with TLR, and activation of the TLR expressing cell, and more specifically, activation of NF-κB, production of IL-8, or production of cytokine such as IL-6 by the endothelial cell; and preferably, the action of inhibiting the binding between the CD14 and the TLR, especially the binding between the CD14 and the TLR2 or the TLR4.

Exemplary preferable antibodies include known anti-CD14 antibodies, especially the antibodies disclosed in WO02/42333 or the like and those produced by a known method, for example, a method disclosed in WO02/42333 or the like. The chimeric antibody and the humanized antibody produced from such antibody are also included in the anti-CD14 antibody (I) of the protein of the present invention.

In the protein of the present invention, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is not particularly limited for its recognition region or binding region as long as it binds to the CD14, and preferably, to the human CD14. However, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is preferably the one which recognizes or binds to at least a part of the C terminal region of the human CD14, especially to amino acid Nos. 269 to 315, and more preferably amino acid Nos. 285 to 307, and most preferably to the amino acid Nos. 294 to 296. More specifically, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is the antibody which recognizes or binds to the part of the CD14 or the antigenic determinant on the CD14. Among the CD14 amino acid substitution mutants of CD14 shown in Table 5 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as amino acid substitution product, amino acid substitution modified form, or an amino acid modified form), the preferred is the one which has significantly reduced binding ability to at least one and preferably all of P294H, Q295A, P296H, and P294/296A compared to the binding ability to the human CD14, and the more preferred is the antibody whose binding ability with other mutants has not substantially changed despite such reduced binding ability. The recognition region or the binding region of the anti-CD14 antibody (I) in the protein of the present invention can be confirmed by using the known material and method, for example, by using the material and method described in WO02/42333. The preferable example, however, is described in the Examples.

Furthermore, of the mutants described in Table 5, the anti-CD14 antibody having the CD14 inhibitory activity can be easily screened, identified, or prepared by using the significant reduction of the binding ability to at least one and preferably all of P294H, Q295A, P296H, and P294/296A compared to the binding ability to the human CD14 for the index, and more preferably, by using absence of the substantial change in the binding ability with other mutants in addition to such reduced binding ability with the said specified mutants for the index. The present invention also provides such method.

In the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the antibody (I) is preferably a monoclonal antibody although the antibody may be a polyclonal antibody, and its source is not limited to a particular species. In view of ease of preparing the antibody, the source is preferably a mouse or a rat. In view of constituting a pharmaceutical composition, the antibody is preferably a chimeric antibody, a CDR-grafted antibody, a humanized antibody, or human antibody. The human antibody also includes a human antibody prepared by immunizing a transgenic mouse expressing human antibody gene. Also included in the antibody of the present invention is a phage antibody or the like. The humanized antibody is a CDR-grafted antibody in which the constant region and the framework region (FR) are from human and the complementarity determining region (CDR) is from non-human, or an antibody which has further mutation introduced in its FR. The phage antibody is an antibody produced by fusing an antibody with the coat protein of a filamentous phage for presentation of the antibody on a phage particle, and single chain Fv (scFv) form or Fab form is mainly used. The chimeric antibody is an antibody comprising the variable region of a monoclonal antibody from a mammal other than human, for example, a rat or a mouse and the constant region of a human antibody. In the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the antibody (I) is not particularly limited for its molecular species, and the antibody may be the one belonging to any class (for example, IgG, IgM, and IgA, especially IgG), subclass (for example, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4, especially IgG4) or isotype. With regard to the light chain of the antibody, either one of the kappa chain and the lambda chain may be used. Also included within the present invention are active fragments and derivatives, such as biologically active Fab (fragment of antigen binding), Fab′, F(ab′)₂, antibody active fragments linked by a linker or the like, such as a single chain antibody (single chain Fv: scFv) (Bird, R. E. et al., Science, 1988; 242: 423-426), a disulfide stabilized antibody (disulfide stabilized Fv: dsFv) (Reiter et al., Protein Engineering, 1994; 7: 697) and a diabody (Holliger P. et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993; 90: 6444-8), a single domain antibody (dAb) (Ward E. S. et al., Nature., 1989; 341:544-6) and the like. These antibodies may be produced by techniques known in the art such as genetic engineering technique and treatment of an antibody with an appropriate protease.

The chimeric antibody is an antibody which has been typically produced by genetic engineering means in which the light chain gene and the heavy chain gene are constituted from the antibody gene segments belonging to different species. For example, the variable (V) segment in the gene from a rat or a mouse monoclonal antibody may be linked to a human constant (C) segment, for example, γ1 and γ4. Therefore, a typical chimeric antibody used for therapeutic purposes is a hybrid protein comprising a V or antigen-binding domain from a rat or a mouse antibody and a C or effector domain from human antibody although other mammalian species may be used.

Preferable examples of the variable region sequence of the antibody (I) in the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (SEQ ID NOS: 123 to 126), and the preferable examples of the fusion protein in which the antibody is a chimeric antibody are shown in FIGS. 7 to 17 and Examples.

While an antibody is typically polyvalent in the binding to an antigen (and divalent in the case of IgG), the antibody (I) in the protein of the present invention is preferably monovalent in some phase. A typical such antibody is a monovalent antibody produced by introducing an amino acid mutation in Fab, or in the constant region of an antibody, especially in the constant region of the heavy chain (CH), so that normal formation of the disulfide bond between the heavy chains is prevented, and typically, by substituting Cys residue, especially Cys residue in the hinge region of the antibody heavy chain, with another amino acid residue. Preferable examples are described in the Examples.

A plurality of definitions of the “complementarity determining region (CDR)” and methods for determining its location have been reported and any one may be employed in the present invention. Typical examples include definition by Kabat (Sequences of proteins of immunological interest, 5th ed., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1991) and definition by Chothia (Chothia and Lesk, J. Mol. Biol., 1987; 196: 901-917). In the present invention, the preferable CDR is the one according to the definition of Kabat, while the CDR is not limited to such type. In some cases, the CDR may be determined by considering both the definition of Kabat and the definition of Chothia. For example, the CDR may be an overlapping region of the CDR according to both the definitions or a region covering the CDR according to both the definitions. Typical example of such method is the method of Martin et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1989; 86: 9268-9272) using Oxford Molecular's AbM antibody modeling software, which is a compromise between the definition of Kabat and the definition of Chothia.

The “framework region” is a region in the light chain and heavy chain variable regions which is considerably conserved among various antibodies in a single species as in the case of the definition by Kabat et al (namely, the region other than the CDR). In the present invention, “human framework region” means the framework region which is substantially the same (with a homology of about 85% or higher) as the framework region of the naturally occurring human antibody or common sequence between some of such antibodies.

The “humanized antibody” is an antibody comprising human framework and at least one CDR derived from a non-human antibody, the constant region of the humanized antibody is substantially the same as the constant region of the human antibody, namely, with the homology at a level of at least about 85 to 90%, and preferably at least 95%. Accordingly, it is likely that the every part of the humanized antibody except the CDR is substantially the same as the corresponding part of at least one natural human antibody sequence. For example, the humanized antibody does not include chimeric antibody comprising the mouse variable region/human constant region.

Such humanized antibody, and more specifically, the antibody (I) of the present invention is a humanized antibody comprising at least one, preferably all (4) of one chain, and more preferably all (4 for each chain), of the framework regions (FRs) from the human acceptor antibodies, preferably from a single human acceptor antibody; and at least one, and preferably all (3 for each chain) of the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) from the antibody F1024. Such antibody may comprise 2 pairs of the light chain/heavy chain complexes, and at least one chain, especially the heavy chain, comprise at least one, and preferably all (3) of the complementarity determining regions from the donor antibody (for example, the rat or mouse antibody, and this applies to the following description) which are functionally linked to the human framework region segment. For example, the complementarity determining region of the donor may be introduced in the human framework region with or without the additional naturally accompanying donor amino acid residues. More illustratively, the humanized antibody of the present invention is the one comprising at least one, and preferably all (3 for each chain) of the CDRs comprising or consisting of any one of the amino acid sequences of the CDRs shown in Table 2. In the humanized antibody, each CDR and the framework are preferably located at positions corresponding to their positions in the original donor antibody.

The humanized antibody used as the antibody (I) of the present invention generally has a homology (percentage of the sequence consistency) of from 65% to 95%, and preferably 70% to 90% between the framework of the heavy chain variable region of the humanized antibody and the framework of the heavy chain variable region of the donor antibody. In the standard procedure, the framework sequences are derived from the heavy chain and the light chain of the same human antibody in order to reduce the risk of incompatibility in the combination of the two chains. The framework sequences, however, may be derived from two or more different human antibodies.

With regard to the human framework region, the sequences are obtained by comparing the amino acid sequences of the frameworks or the variable regions of the non-human antibody from which the CDRs are obtained, with the corresponding sequences in the human antibody sequence collection, and selecting the sequences having a high homology. Preferably, the homology of the framework amino acid sequence is at least 60%, and more preferably at least 65%. In addition, the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain variable region of the acceptor antibody is selected from 5, and more preferably 3 sequences in a typical collection of the sequence of the heavy chain variable region of the human antibody which have the highest homology with the amino acid sequence of the heavy chain variable region of the donor antibody. The designing of the humanized antibody may be accomplished as described below.

1) When the particular amino acid corresponds to the following categories (a) to (c), this particular amino acid in the framework of the human antibody (acceptor antibody) may be substituted with the amino acid from the non-human antibody (donor antibody).

(a) the particular amino acid in the human framework region of the acceptor antibody is rarely found at the position of the human antibody, while this corresponding amino acid in the donor antibody is typically found at the position of the human antibody;

(b) the particular amino acid is close or adjacent to one of the CDRs in the primary sequence; or

(c) the particular amino acid has an atom at a distance within about 5, preferably 4, and more preferably 3 angstroms in the three-dimensional model of the donor antibody or the humanized antibody (Co et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1991; 88: 2869).

2) When a particular amino acid in the human framework region of the acceptor antibody and the corresponding amino acid in the donor antibody are rare at the corresponding position of the human antibody, the amino acid is substituted with the amino acid which is typically found at the corresponding position of the human framework.

For detailed description of the production of the humanized antibody, Queen et al., Proc, Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1989; 86: 10029, WO90/07861, WO92/11018, Co et al., Proc, Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 1991; 88: 2869, Co and Queen, Nature, 1991; 351: 501, and Co et al., J. Immunol., 1992; 148: 1149 may be referred to, which are herein incorporated by reference.

It is generally desirable that all or most of the amino acid substitutions fulfill the criteria as described above. However, since uncertainty is associated with the judgment whether the individual amino acid is actually consistent with the criteria as described above, and various antibodies produced include those with and without the substitution at the particular position, optimization of the CDR and the FR may be conducted by computer modeling.

When the V region of the human antibody having a high homology is found, the CDR sequences of the donor antibody, especially antibody F1024, are transplanted into the framework portion of such V region, and the conformation is simulated by computer molecular modeling. The programs used in this step include ABMOD and ENCAD (Biochemistry, 1990; 29: 10032). By this simulation of the conformation, optimization is accomplished by substituting an amino acid in the FR near the CDR with another amino acid so that the amino acid arrangement of the CDR region will realize optimized binding activity with the CD14.

Alternatively, the optimization of the CDR and FR may be accomplished by using the amino acid sequence of a part of the FR of the donor antibody, especially antibody F1024, without any change in the sequence and transplanting such sequence into the V region of the human antibody. In this case, the sequence of a part of the CDR and the FR of the antibody F1024 is transplanted into the V region of the human antibody, and the conformation is simulated by computer molecular modeling. Exemplary programs which may be used in this step include Modeler and QUANTA/CHARMm (Molecular Simulations).

When 3 to 4 sites in the light chain and 7 to 8 sites in the heavy chain are replaced with the amino acids from a donor, for example rat, FR will have a structure resembling the rat antibody and the arrangement of the amino acids in the CDR region may facilitate optimization of the binding activity with the CD14.

As long as the binding activity as an anti-CD14 antibody is retained, deletion, substitution, insertion, or addition of a single or 2 or more amino acids may be conducted in the amino acids of the CDR region. In this case, binding activity as an anti-CD14 antibody is more likely to be retained when the substitution takes place between the amino acids classified as the same group, for example, between Gly and Ala; Val, Leu and Ile; Asn and Gln; Cys and Met; or Lys and Arg. In addition, the amino acids at some positions of the framework region are involved in the direct interaction with the antigen, for example, contact with the antigen in a noncovalent binding mode, and such positions are also subject to the substitution as described above. Especially, the amino acids at 26th to 30th of the heavy chain are described to be a part of the hypervariable loop in terms of the conformation (Chothia and Lesk, J. Mol. Biol., 1987; 196: 901-917), and such region may also be transplanted as in the case of the CDR.

The humanized antibody is prepared based on the resulting amino acid sequence. For example, the nucleotide sequence of the humanized antibody may be determined from the thus determined amino acid sequence, and the gene coding for the humanized monoclonal antibody is thereby produced. More specifically, DNA coding for the CDR is deleted from the gene coding for the human V region, and instead, the DNA coding for the CDR from the donor such as the rat is inserted. According to the changed amino acid based on the results of the molecular modeling, the corresponding DNA sequence is altered, for example, by site-directed mutagenesis using PCR to thereby produce the recombinant human V gene. This gene is cloned into the vector comprising the C regions of the heavy chain and the light chain of the human antibody to produce the expression vector. By changing the sequence from the human used in this stage, antibodies of the desired subclass, for example, human IgG1 or IgG3, and preferably IgG4 and the like may be produced. The expression vector may be introduced and expressed in mouse myeloma cell Sp2-O-ag14 (ATCC CRL1581) or hamster ovary cell CHO.

The humanized antibody has at least three latent advantages when used for therapeutic treatment of human compared to the non-human antibody, for example, the mouse or rat antibody, and in some cases, chimeric antibody.

1) Since the effector part is of human origin, the antibody undergoes better interaction with other parts of the human immune system (for example, a more efficient destruction of the target cell by complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) or antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC)).

2) Human immune system does not recognize the framework or the C region of the humanized antibody as a foreign substance, and therefore, response by the antibody upon administration of the antibody is reduced compared to the mouse antibody which is totally foreign or the chimeric antibody which is partly foreign.

3) Administered rat and mouse antibodies are reported to have an in vivo half life in the circulation in blood of human which is extremely shorter than the normal antibodies (Shaw, D. et al., J. Immunol., 1987; 138: 4534-4538). The humanized antibody after the administration probably has a half life more or less resembling that of the naturally occurring human antibody, and effective administration will be accomplished by using a smaller amount or by administering at a lower frequency.

The anti-CD14 antibody (I) may include the antibodies, especially humanized antibodies, having at least one of the CDRs of the antibody described in the Examples, especially F1024, preferably having 3 CDRs in the heavy chain variable region (VH) or the light chain variable region (VL) of the antibody, and more preferably having all of the 6 CDRs of the antibody, positioned at the corresponding positions. More specifically, the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is an antibody, especially a humanized antibody, comprising the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the heavy chain described in Table 2 as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the heavy chain variable region and/or the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the light chain described in Table 2 as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 of the light chain variable region.

When the anti-CD14 antibody (I) is a human antibody, exemplary methods used in the production include a method in which a hybridoma is produced by using activation of human lymphocyte by in vitro immunization; a method carried out by using a human antibody phage library; and a method in which a hybridoma is produced by using a non-human animal having the recombinant human antibody gene, especially a transgenic mouse such as KM mouse (WO2002/070648 (JP 2005-504507 A) and WO2002/043478 (JP 2004-515230 A)).

The human antibody phage library is a library produced by inserting the antibody gene prepared from human B cell in a phage gene to promote expression of the active fragments of the antibody such as the Fab and the single chain antibody on the surface of the phage. The antibody of the present invention can also be obtained by screening such libraries. These and other methods are well known to those skilled in the art (Huse et al., Science, 246: 1275-1281 (1989), Winter and Harris, Immunol. Today 14: 243-246 (1993), Ward et al., Nature 341: 544-546 (1989), Harlow and Lane (1988), supra, Hilyard et al., Protein Engineering: A practical approach (IRL Press 1992), Borrabeck, Antibody Engineering, 2nd ed. (Oxford University Press 1995), Barbas, C. F. I., Burton, D. R., Scott, J. K., and Silverman, G. J. 2001. Phage display: a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., USA. 736 pp.). A phage expressing the active fragment of the antibody having the desired antigen binding activity may be collected from the library by using the binding activity to a substrate having an antigen immobilized thereto for the index. The active fragment of the antibody may also be converted to a human antibody molecule comprising two complete H chains and two complete L chains by genetic engineering.

The polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention may be any molecular species including the nucleic acid. The polynucleotide may include DNA and RNA as well as polydeoxyribonucleotide and polyribonucleotide. The polynucleotide may be a mixture or a modification product thereof as long as it codes for at least a part of the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention. The polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention can be produced from the cell producing the (I) and/or (II) as described above by a method known in the art, and particularly by genetic engineering. Typical examples are described in the Examples.

The second aspect of the present invention is a polynucleotide coding for the protein, preferably the fusion protein, and more specifically, the fusion protein comprising an antibody of the first aspect. However, since the antibody is a protein inherently comprising a plurality of polypeptide chains, the polynucleotide of the present invention includes the case in which the single molecule polynucleotide codes for the protein of the present invention and the case in which 2 or more molecules, for example, 2 or 3 molecules of polynucleotide codes for the protein of the present invention. Typical examples are described in the Examples. With regard to at least a part of the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, typical polynucleotide is the polynucleotide coding for the heavy chain, especially the heavy chain variable region (VH) part of the antibody, or the heavy chain part and the inhibitor part, or preferably their fusion protein; or the polynucleotide coding for the light chain, especially the light chain variable region (VL) part of the antibody, or the light chain part and the inhibitor part, or preferably their fusion protein. Preferable examples of the polynucleotide include those shown by SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 in the Sequence Listing.

The vector according to the third aspect of the present invention includes a case in which the polynucleotide according to the second aspect is present on a single vector, and a case in which the polynucleotide is present on 2 or more vectors, for example, 2 or 3 vectors. The vector according to the third aspect of the present invention may also include components required for replication of the vector and components required for controlling the expression of the polynucleotide according to the second aspect in addition to the polynucleotide according to the second aspect. Such additional components are well known to those skilled in the art.

The vector used for the incorporation of the polynucleotide according to the second aspect is not particularly limited. The vector, however, is preferably a vector which is generally used for the expression of a protein gene, especially a vector which is adapted for expression of an antibody or a fusion protein comprising an antibody, or a vector for overexpression. Exemplary preferable vectors include a vector comprising human elongation factor (EF) 1α promoter and/or CMV enhancer, for example, pEF-BOS or the vector used in the Examples. While the general practice is such that an expression vector having incorporated therein a polynucleotide coding for the VH part, or the VH and the inhibitor part, and preferably, the fusion protein of the VH and the inhibitor part, and an expression vector having incorporated therein a polynucleotide coding for the VL part, or the VL part and the inhibitor part, and preferably, the fusion protein of the VL part and the inhibitor part are separately prepared, and these vectors are cotransfected in a host cell, it is also possible to incorporate both polynucleotides in a single expression vector. The procedure as described above may be carried out by using known materials and methods, and typical examples are described in the Examples.

The cell according to the fourth aspect of the present invention can be prepared by introducing the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention in an adequate host cell by the method known in the art. Examples of such cells include hybridoma, transformant, and genetically modified cell having the polynucleotide or the vector of the present invention introduced therein. The host cell used is not particularly limited, and the preferred are those which are generally used in the expression of a protein gene or the like, especially the cells which are adapted for use in the expression of an antibody, a fusion protein comprising an antibody or the like. Exemplary host cells include bacteria (for example, E. coli), actinomycete, yeast, insect cell (for example, SF9), and mammalian cell (for example, COS-1, CHO, and myeloma cell), and the preferred is the mammalian cell. The procedure as described above may be carried out by using known materials and methods, and typical examples are described in the Examples.

The protein according to the first aspect of the present invention can be produced by the in vitro translation using the polynucleotide according to the second aspect or the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention, or by cultivating the cell according to the fourth aspect of the present invention under appropriate conditions (fifth aspect of the present invention). The protein produced may be isolated by combining appropriate known purification methods. Preferable examples are described in the Examples.

The preventive and/or therapeutic agent for a disease according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one of the protein according to the first aspect of the present invention, the polynucleotide according to the second aspect of the present invention, the vector according to the third aspect of the present invention, and the cell according to the fourth aspect of the present invention as its effective component, and the polynucleotide and the vector of the present invention can be used, for example, in gene therapy, and the transformant can be used in cell therapy with optional addition of pharmaceutically acceptable additives.

The preventive and/or therapeutic agent for a disease according to the sixth aspect of the present invention can be applied to various diseases or pathologies, or particular therapeutic indexes associated with such diseases or pathology. Although such disease, pathology, and therapeutic index are not limited to any particular types, they are preferably diseases related to distribution or function of the CD14, distribution or function of the protease, or bacterial infection. Accordingly, the preventive and/or therapeutic agent of the present invention may be used for sepsis and related diseases, systemic or cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, inflammatory disease, respiratory disease or respiratory failure, autoimmune disease, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) or failure or dysfunction of individual organ. More specifically, the preventive and/or therapeutic agent of the present invention may be used for sepsis and related diseases such as severe sepsis, septic ARDS and septic shock; SIRS related disease; shocks such as endotoxin shock, exotoxin shock, hemorrhagic shock, and intraoperative or postoperative shock; systemic or cardiovascular diseases such as ischemic reperfusion organ failure, ischemic encephalopathy, acute ischemic stroke, acute stage cerebral thrombosis, acute coronary microvascular embolus, vascular embolus resulting from shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), myocardial infarction and its aftereffect, and hypotension; infectious diseases such as periodontal disease, acute bacterial meningitis, invasive staphylococcal infection, infectious endocarditis, acute viral encephalitis, and AIDS; inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, nephritis, myocarditis, pneumonia, hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, encephalitis, osteoarthritis, atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, reflux esophagitis, and ankylosing spondylitis; respiratory diseases or respiratory failures such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), infantile respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary emphysema, and asthma; autoimmune diseases such as chronic rheumatoid arthritis, intractable colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, glomerulonephritis, SLE, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis and Sjoegren's syndrome; multiple organ failure; organ failure or rejection after organ transplantation; and individual organ dysfunctions such as cardiac failure, unstable angina, valvulitis, renal failure, cardiomyopathy, nephratonia, hepatic insufficiency, and fulminant hepatic failure.

Preferable diseases for application of the preventive and/or therapeutic agent are diseases such as sepsis, severe sepsis, septic ARDS or septic shock, SIRS, endotoxin shock, and ARDS.

The preventive and/or therapeutic agent of the present invention is also useful for improving or preventing the conditions associated with the increase in the inflammatory cytokine, especially increase in the blood TNF concentration. Furthermore, the agent of the present invention is expected to have therapeutic and preventive effects on Gram-negative bacterial infection in which LPS is involved, Gram-positive bacterial infection in which LTA or peptidoglycan is involved, and sepsis associated with mycoplasma infection, namely, therapeutic effects after emergence or progress of the conditions associated with such diseases as well as preventive effects for patients exhibiting high value of blood LPS, LTA, or mycoplasma, patients exhibiting high blood concentration of certain CD14 molecular species (see WO01/22085 and WO2004/44005), and those who are expected to develop such conditions.

Exemplary pharmaceutically acceptable additives which may be incorporated as desired include carrier, excipient, stabilizer, lubricant, colorant, disintegrant, antiseptic, isotonic agent, stabilizer, dispersant, antioxidant, buffer agent, preservative, suspending agent, emulsifier, appropriate solvents generally used in the art (for example, sterile water and vegetable oil), and physiologically acceptable solubilizer.

The pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may also comprise an antibiotic, steroid, various cytokine antibodies, or anticoagulants. These agents will exhibit additive effects or synergistic effects with the protein of the present invention, and the pharmaceutical composition will have an improved effectiveness.

The dose when the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention is administered as a agent is not particularly limited, and the dose may be adequately determined by taking the conditions, body weight, age, sex, and the like of a patient into consideration. In a typical case of administering the protein of the present invention as the effective component, the dose is preferably at least 0.1 mg/kg, and more preferably 1 to 10 mg/kg.

The dosage form used in administering the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention as a agent is not particularly limited, and preferable dosage forms include tablet, injection, powder, suppository, inhalant, and the more preferred are injection and inhalant. While various administration routes are possible, the preferred is parenteral administration. Parenteral administration is commonly performed with an injection such as intravenous administration (bolus administration, continuous infusion, intermittent infusion), intraarterial administration, subcutaneous administration, and intramuscular administration, and inhalation is also preferably used. Other administration routes include intrarectal administration, percutaneous absorption, intraarticular administration, transnasal administration, and transmucosal administration. The administration method may include prophylactic administration, single administration, and continuous administration while actual timing and frequency of the administration depends on the conditions of the patient.

Also provided is a therapeutic method using the agent comprising the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention as its main ingredient for the disease or the pathology to which the preventive and/or therapeutic agent according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is applied.

EXAMPLES

Next, the present invention is described in further detail by referring to the Examples which by no means limit the scope of the present invention.

Example 1 Construction of Chimeric Antibody and Antibody Fusion Protein

1-1) Construction of Chimeric Antibody and Antibody Fusion Protein (F1024)

(1) Materials

Major materials and apparatus used were as described below.

Primer: primers shown in Table 1 (synthesized by Sigma Genosys Japan, K.K.),

Enzyme for PCR: Ex Taq (TAKARA BIO INC.),

Restriction enzymes: EcoRI, BamHI, NotI, NheI, EcoRV, StuI, BglII, and others (TAKARA BIO INC.),

Genomic DNA: HeLa genome (lot. N34707-1, BD Biosciences Clontech),

PCR apparatus: DNA Engine (MJ RESEARCH, INC.),

Agarose electrophoresis gel: SeaKem GTG Agarose (TAKARA BIO INC.),

50×TAE (2 mol/L Iris-acetate, 0.05 mol/L EDTA) (NIPPON GENE CO., LTD.),

Molecular weight marker (λ DNA fragment digested with Sty1),

Kit used for extraction of DNA fragment from the gel (QIAEX II, QIAGEN K.K.),

Expression vector for mammalian cell: pEF2cew (a vector produced by improving pEF-BOS),

Plasmid comprising human IgG4 heavy chain constant region (Cγ4) gene: pTK-2232,

TA cloning vector: pT7BlueT (NOVAGEN) and ligation reagent: TaKaRa ligation Kit ver. 2 (TAKARA BIO INC.),

E. coli competent cell: JM109 (TAKARA BIO INC.),

Plasmid DNA and genomic DNA purification kit (QIAGEN K.K.),

Sequencing kit: DYEnamic ET Terminator Cycle Sequencing Premix Kit lot. 1767 (Amersham Biosciences) and analyzer: ABI3100 genetic analyzer (Applied Biosystems),

Total RNA isolation reagent: TRIzol (GIBCO BRL),

5′RACE kit: 5′RACE system for Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, v.2.0 (Invitrogen Corporation),

Dulbecco's MEM (SIGMA),

Transfection reagent: FuGENE6 (Roche Diagnostics K.K.)

TABLE 1  Sequence of primers SEQ Primer Name Base Sequence ID M4 5′- GTTTTCCCAGTCACGACG -3′ 135 T7 5′- CTGTTGTTTCAGCTGAGGACAC -3′ 136 rIgH-b 5′- CTGTTGTTTCAGCTGAGGACAC -3′ 137 rIgH-c 5′- AGGGTCACCATGGAGTTACTT -3′ 138 rIgK-a 5′- AGATACAGTTGGTGCAGCATCAGC -3′ 139 rIgK-b 5′- GACACTGATGTCTCTGGGATAGA -3′ 140 1024H-a 5′- GAATTCCATGGATTGGTTGTGGAACTT -3′ 141 1024K-a 5′- GAATTCCATGGAGTCACATACTAG -3′ 142 HchainEco47NheI 5′- CCCCCGCTAGCGCTGGAGACGGTGACC -3′ 143 rIgK-BsiWI 5′- CGTACGTTTCAATTCCAGCTTGGT -3′ 144 IgG4-m 5′- AGCGCTAGCACCAAGGGCCCATCCGTCTTC-3′ 145 IgG4-v 5′- GGATCCTTTACCCAGAGACAGGGA -3′ 146 IgG4-s 5′- TTACCTGGGCCTGATGGGCCTGGGGGACCA -3′ 147 IgG4-r 5′- TGGTCCCCCAGGCCCATCAGGCCCAGGTAA -3′ 148 IgK-e 5′- GCACTTCTCCCTCTAACACT -3′ 149 BsiWI-hIgK 5′- CGTACGGTGGCTGCACCATCTGTC -3′ 150 UTI-a 5′- GGATCCGCTGTGCTACCCCAAGAA -3′ 151 UTI-b 5′- GGATCCACTGTGGCGGCCTGCAAT -3′ 152 UTI-c 5′- GCGGCCGCTCAGTTGGAGAAGCGCAGCAG -3′ 153 UTI-f 5′- GATATCACCACCACCACCGTTGGAGAAGCGCAGCA -3′ 154 UTI-g 5′- AGGCCTACCACCACCACCGTTGGAGAAGCGCAGCA -3′ 155 UTI-h 5′- GATATCGGAGGAGGAGGAGCTGTGCTACCCCAAGA -3′ 156 UTI-i 5′- GATATCGGAGGAGGAGGAACTGTGGCGGCCTGCAA -3′ 157 SLPI-a 5′- CAGAGTCACTCCTGCCTTCA -3′ 158 SLPI-c 5′- AGATCTGGAAAGTCCTTCAAAGCTGGAGTC -3′ 159 SLPI-d 5′- ACACCCCAAACCCAACAAGGAGGAAGCCTG -3′ 160 SLPI-e 5′- CAGGCTTCCTCCTTGTTGGGTTTGGGGTGT -3′ 161 SLPI-g 5′- GCGGCCGCTCAAGCTTTCACAGGGGAAACG -3′ 162 1031H-a 5′-GGG GAA TTC CAT GGG ATG GAG CCG GAT C -3′ 163 mIgG2b-c 5′-TGA ACA CAG ACC ACT CAC CAT G -3′ 164 mIgG2b-a 5′-GGG CCA GTG GAT AGA CTG ATG -3′ 165 IGKV4-1-a 5′-GCA TTG TGA ACT GAG CTA CAA C -3′ 166 IgK-d 5′-GAC ATC GTG ATG ACC CAG TCT C -3′ 167 rIgK-a 5′-AGA TAC AGT TGG TGC AGC ATC AGC -3′ 168 13HcS-EcoR 5′-GGA ATT CCA TGG AAT GTA ACT GGA TAC TTC -3′ 169 13HcA-Nhe 5′-CTA GCT AGC GCT GGA GAC GGT GAC TGA GGT -3′ 170 13LcS-EcoR 5′-GGA ATT CCA TGG AGA CAG ACA CAC TCC TG -3′ 171 13LcA-BsiW 5′-CAC CGT ACG TTT GAT TTC CAG CTT GGT CCC -3′ 172

(2) Experimental Methods

Major experimental methods employed are as described below.

PCR

PCR was conducted according to the instruction manual of the enzyme.

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis

Agarose gel at a concentration of 0.8% was prepared, and this gel was placed in an electrophoresis tank filled with 1×TAE, and after applying 5 μL of the sample to the well, electrophoresis was conducted at 135 V for 15 minutes. After completion of the electrophoresis, the gel was stained with ethidium bromide, and the band was detected with UV.

Extraction of DNA Fragments from the Gel

The band of interest was cut with a razor, and the DNA fragment was extracted from the gel piece using QIAEX II kit according to the attached instruction manual. The thus extracted DNA fragment was dissolved in 20 μL sterile water.

Ligation Reaction

1 μL of the extracted DNA fragment, 1 μL of the cloning vector (pT7BlueT), and 2 μL of I solution of the ligation kit ver.2 were mixed, and the mixture was allowed to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes to promote the ligation.

Transformation of E. coli

50 μL of competent E. coli was allowed to thaw on ice, and 4 μL of the ligation product was added. After allowing to stand on ice for 30 minutes, heat shock was applied at 42° C. for 45 seconds, and the solution was coated on an ampicillin-containing LB plate (final concentration, 50 μg/mL), and the plate was incubated overnight at 37° C.

Purification of Plasmid and Sequencing Reaction

The procedure was conducted according to the instruction manual attached to the kit.

Separation of Total RNA from Hybridoma and 5′RACE

The procedure was conducted according to the instruction manual attached to the kit. The number of hybridoma cells used was 5×10⁷.

Transfection

The transfection was conducted according to the instruction manual attached to the FuGENE6. In the case of 6-well plate, 2 mL of COS-1 cell was inoculated in each well at a density of 1.5×10⁵ cells/mL on the day before the transfection. On the next day, 3 μL of FuGENE6 and 1 of the expression plasmid were added to 97 μL of Dulbecco's MEM, and after allowing the mixture to stand for at least 15 minutes, 2 mL of this mixture was added dropwise to the serum free Dulbecco's MEM. The transfection was accomplished by the replacement of the culture medium.

(3) Cloning of the Variable Region of the Hybridoma Antibody Gene and Determination of the Sequence (F1024)

The hybridoma F1024 (1×10⁷ cells) produced by the method described in WO02/42333 was washed with PBS⁻ (SIGMA), and total RNA was extracted by using TRIzol (GIBCO BRL). Next, 5 μg of the total RNA was subjected to 5′ RACE by using 5′RACE system for Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, ver. 2.0 (Invitrogen Corporation), and gene fragments coding for the heavy and light chain variable regions were respectively amplified. The procedure was conducted as described in the manual attached to the kit, and the heavy chain variable region was subjected to reverse transcription using rIgH-c primer, dC addition on the terminal using terminal deoxynucleotide transferase, and first PCR using the rIgH-c primer and AAP primer (attached to the kit). The light chain variable region was similarly subjected to the reverse transcription using rIgK-b primer, and first PCR using the rIgK-b primer and the AAP primer. Subsequently, second PCR was conducted using the reaction product for the template by using the rIgH-b primer and AUAP primer (attached to the kit) for the heavy chain variable region, and rIgH-a primer and AUAP primer (attached to the kit) for the light chain variable region, and each of the thus specifically amplified DNA fragments were confirmed by agarose gel electrophoresis. After extracting the DNA fragment from the gel, the nucleotide sequence was determined, and amino acid sequence of the corresponding region was also determined (FIGS. 1 and 2). The CDR sequences according to the definition of Kabat are shown in Table 2. The sequences shown in Table 2 are described in SEQ ID NOS: 173 to 178.

TABLE 2  CDR amino acid sequence of antibody  F1024 F1024 CDR1 CDR2 CDR3 Heavy DYAMN WINTQTGKPTYADDFKQ STFYYSSYIYGWYFDF chain SEQ ID (SEQ ID No: 174) (SEQ ID  No: 173) No: 175) Light KASQNVGSNVD KASNRYT MQSNTNPPWT chain (SEQ ID (SEQ ID No: 177) (SEQ ID  No: 176) No: 178)

(4) Construction of Expression Plasmid of Chimeric Antibody Fusion Protein

Production of a chimeric antibody in which the variable region having the antigen binding activity is the one from the hybridoma antibody, namely, the one from the rat antibody and the constant region is the one from human antibody enables provision of an antibody with reduced antigenicity for human. A large number of chimeric antibodies have been developed since the report of Morrison et al. in 1984 (Proc, Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 81: 6851, 1984).

5′ primers respectively having a recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRI attached immediately upstream of the initiation codon of the variable region (1024H-a for the heavy chain, 1024K-a for the light chain) and 3′ primers (HchainEco47NheI for the heavy chain and rIgK-BsiWI for the light chain) having attached thereto a restriction enzyme (NheI recognition sequence for the heavy chain and BsiWI recognition sequence for the light chain) which can be ligated with the human constant region without altering the amino acid sequence of the 3′ side sequence of the variable region were designed. With these primers, PCR was conducted again by using the heavy chain and the light chain samples prepared in Example 1-1)-(3) after the reverse transcription for the template. The thus amplified PCR product was mixed with pT7BlueT vector (NOVAGEN), and ligation reaction was conducted using TaKaRa Ligation Kit ver. 2 (TAKARA BIO INC.) at room temperature for 15 minutes. Competent cell E. coli (JM109, TAKARA BIO INC.) was transformed by using the reaction solution.

The colony formed was picked up, and the insertion of the insert in the vector was confirmed by colony direct PCR by using Ex Taq polymerase (TAKARA BIO INC.), M4 primer, and T7 primer.

Next, the colony which had been confirmed for the insertion of the insert was cultivated overnight in LB medium, and the plasmid was purified by using QIAGEN plasmid midi kit (QIAGEN) (The plasmid having the gene fragment coding for the heavy chain variable region was designated pT7-1024H, and the plasmid having the gene fragment coding for the light chain variable region was designated pT7-1024K). The nucleotide sequence of the purified plasmid was checked by using the M4 primer and the T7 primer.

pT7-1024H was cleaved with restriction enzymes EcoRI and NheI to prepare gene fragment A coding for the heavy chain variable region. In a similar manner, pT7-1024K was cleaved with restriction enzymes EcoRI and BsiWI to prepare gene fragment B coding for the light chain variable region.

PCR was conducted by using plasmid pTK-2232 (see WO2005/7800) comprising the gene for human IgG4 heavy chain constant region (Cγ4) for the template and the primer pair (IgG4-m and IgG4-v) to amplify a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NheI at the 5′ terminal of the Cγ4, and having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 3′ terminal of the Cγ4 in place of the stop codon that had been deleted. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes NheI and BamHI to prepare gene fragment C.

PCR was conducted by using pTK-2232 for the template and 2 primer pairs (IgG4-m and IgG4-s) and (IgG4-r and IgG4-v) to thereby amplify each gene fragment. These gene fragments were mixed for use as a template, and PCR was conducted again by using another primer pair (IgG4-m and IgG4-v) to amplify a gene fragment which has 2 cysteine residues required for the dimerization of the heavy chains replaced with glycine residues, and which has the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NheI at the 5′ terminal, and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 3′ terminal in place of the stop codon. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes NheI and BamHI to prepare gene fragment D.

PCR was conducted by using HeLa genomic DNA for the template and the primers (BsiWI-hIgK and IgK-e) to thereby amplify human light chain constant region (Cκ), and this amplification product was cloned into pT7BlueT vector to construct pT7-hIgK. Fragment E was then prepared by using adequate restriction enzymes (BsiWI and BamHI) which were capable of cleaving the human light chain constant region from the plasmid.

PCR was conducted by using plasmid pM1213 comprising human UTI domain 1 and domain 2 (D1D2) for the template and the primer pair (UTI-a and UTI-c) to amplify a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 5′ terminal of the D1D2, and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NotI immediately downstream of the stop codon at the 3′ terminal. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and NotI to prepare gene fragment F.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-b and UTI-c) to amplify a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for the restriction enzyme BamHI at the 5′ terminal of D2, and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NotI immediately downstream of the stop codon at the 3′ terminal. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and NotI to prepare gene fragment G.

PCR was conducted by using plasmid pM765 comprising 3 amino acids modified form of human UTI domain 2 {D2(3)} (see JP 6-321989 A) for the template and the primer pair (UTI-b and UTI-c), and a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 5′ terminal of D2(3), and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NotI immediately downstream of the stop codon at the 3′ terminal. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and NotI to prepare gene fragment H.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-a and UTI-f) to amplify a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 5′ terminal of the D1D2, and having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added after removing the stop codon at the 3′ terminal and further having recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately downstream of the linker. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and EcoRV to prepare gene fragment I.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-b and UTI-f) to amplify a gene fragment having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BamHI at the 5′ terminal of D2 and having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added after removing the stop codon at the 3′ terminal and further having recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately downstream of the linker. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and EcoRV to prepare gene fragment J.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-h and UTI-c) to amplify a gene fragment having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added at the 5′ terminal of D1D2 and having the recognition sequence for the restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately upstream of the linker, and having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NotI immediately downstream of the stop codon at the 3′ terminal. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes EcoRV and NotI to prepare gene fragment K.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-i and UTI-c) to amplify a gene fragment having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added at the 5′ terminal of D2 and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately before the linker, and having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme NotI immediately downstream of the stop codon at the 3′ terminal. This fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes EcoRV and NotI to prepare gene fragment L.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-h and UTI-g) to amplify a gene fragment having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added at the 5′ terminal of D1D2 and the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately before the linker, and having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added after removing the stop codon at the 3′ terminal and further having recognition sequence for restriction enzyme StuI immediately downstream of the linker. After cloning this fragment in pT7BlueT vector, the vector was cleaved with EcoRV and BamHI, and gene fragment I was ligated to construct an intermediate plasmid comprising D1D2D1D2 sequence. This plasmid was cleaved with BamHI and StuI to prepare gene fragment M.

PCR was conducted by using pM1213 for the template and the primer pair (UTI-i and UTI-g) to amplify a gene fragment having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added at the 5′ terminal of D2 and having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRV immediately upstream of the linker, and having a linker comprising 4 glycine residues added after removing the stop codon at the 3′ terminal and further having recognition sequence for restriction enzyme StuI immediately downstream of the linker. After cloning this fragment in pT7BlueT vector, the vector was cleaved with EcoRV and BamHI, and gene fragment J was ligated to construct an intermediate plasmid comprising D2D2 sequence. This plasmid was cleaved with BamHI and StuI to prepare gene fragment N.

PCR was conducted by using HeLa genomic DNA for the template and the following primer pair. As a consequence, PCR amplification product 0 was obtained by SLPI-c and SLPI-e, PCR amplification product P was obtained by SLPI-d and SLPI-g, and PCR amplification product R was obtained by SLPI-a and SLPI-g.

When PCR was conducted again by using a mixture of 0 and P for the temperate using primers SLPI-c and SLPI-g, amplification product Q, which is ligation product of both fragments was obtained.

The amplification products Q and R were respectively cloned in pT7BlueT vector, and Q and R were confirmed to be the sequences coding for Ser¹-Ala¹⁰⁷ of human SLPI (also (also referred to as SLPI(D2)), and they were designated pT7-SLPI(D1D2) and pT7-SLPI(D2), respectively. Both were constructed such that the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme BglII was located on the 5′ side of the SLPI, NotI recognition sequence was located immediately downstream of the stop codon on the 3′ side. These plasmids were respectively cleaved with restriction enzymes BglII and NotI, respectively, to prepare SLPI(D1D2) fragment S and SLPI(D2) fragment T.

The gene fragments as described above were ligated in the downstream of the EF1α promoter of the expression vector pEF2cew prepared by cleaving with EcoRI and NotI, or EcoRI and BamHI in appropriate combinations to construct respective expression plasmids. The names of the expression plasmids and the names of the gene fragments incorporated in the vector are together shown in Table 3. The same plasmid pTK-2344 expressing the light chain of the chimeric antibody was used for all types of heavy chains. The structure, the nucleotide sequence, and the deduced amino acid sequence of each fusion protein are shown in FIGS. 7 to 17 and Sequence Listing (SEQ ID NOS: 1 to 26). In each of the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 24, Amino Acid Nos. 1 to 19 correspond to the signal peptide sequence, and in the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID NOS: 22 and 26, Amino Acid Nos. 1 to 20 correspond to the signal peptide sequence. Accordingly, the deduced amino acid sequence of the fusion protein of the present invention is the amino acid sequence from which the signal peptide has been excluded.

TABLE 3 chimeric antibody - heavy chain fusion protein and plasmid expressing light chain of the chimeric antibody Antibody Fusion Protein Plasmid Name Insert Fragment FIG. No. SEQ ID F1024D-D1D2 pTK-2348 A + C + F 7 1 to 2 F1024D-D2 pTK-2349 A + C + G 8 3 to 4 F1024D-D2(3) pTK-2368 A + C + H 9 5 to 6 F1024S-D1D2 pTK-2354 A + D + F 10 7 to 8 F1024S-D2 pTK-2355 A + D + G 11  9 to 10 F1024S-D2(3) pTK-2370 A + D + H 12 11 to 12 F1024D-D1D2D1D2 pTK-2356 A + C + I + K — — F1024D-D2D2 pTK-2357 A + C + J + L — — F1024S-D1D2D1D2 pTK-2360 A + D + I + K — — F1024S-D2D2 pTK-2361 A + D + J + L — — F1024D-D1D2D1D2D1D2 pTK-2362 A + C + M + K — — F1024D-D2D2D2 pTK-2363 A + C + N + L — — F1024S-D1D2D1D2D1D2 pTK-2366 A + D + M + K — — F1024S-D2D2D2 pTK-2367 A + D + N + L — — F1024D-SLPI(D1D2) pTK-2397 A + C + S 13 13 to 14 F1024D-SLPI(D2) pTK-2394 A + C + T 14 15 to 16 F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) pTK-2399 A + D + S 15 17 to 18 F1024S-SLPI(D2) pTK-2396 A + D + T 16 19 to 20 F1024 light chain pTK-2344 B + E 7 to 16 21 to 22 of chimeric antibody F1031-13S-D2(3) pF31-13HU 17 23 to 24 F1031-13 light pF31-13L 17 25 to 26 chain of chimeric antibody

(5) Expression of Each Fusion Protein in Small Scale And Purification of Expressed Fusion Protein

COS-1 cell was subcultured in Dulbecco's MEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum, and on the day before the transfection, the cell was inoculated in the cultivation vessel at a density of 1.5×10⁵ cells/mL. On the next day, light chain expression plasmid (pTK-2344) was mixed with each heavy chain expression plasmid at a weight ratio of 1:1, and then, with an adequate amount of the transfection reagent (FuGENE6, Rosch Diagnostics). This mixture was added dropwise to serum free Dulbecco's MEM, and the cell was transfected by replacing this medium with the culture medium. The cell was incubated in the presence of 5% CO₂ at 37° C. for 2 to 3 days, and the supernatant was collected. The purification was conducted using Prosep-A column (MILLIPORE), and after dialyzing with PBS (pH 7.4), concentration was calculated from the absorbance at 280 nm.

1-2) Construction of Chimeric Antibody and Antibody Fusion Protein (F1031)

(1) Cloning of Variable Region of Hybridoma Antibody Gene and Determination of Sequence (F1031)

CDR sequence of antibody F1031-13-2 (mouse IgG2b/K) which is an anti-human CD14 antibody that binds to CD14 but that has no CD14 inhibitory activity was determined by the procedure as described below.

First, total RNA was prepared from the hybridoma expressing F1031-13-2 by using TRIzol, and single chain cDNA was synthesized by using SuperScript III First-Strand Synthesis System for RT-PCR (Invitrogen Corporation).

In the meanwhile, sense primers 1031H-a and mIgG2b-c and antisense primer mIgG2b-a were synthesized for use in the amplification of the variable region of the mouse IgG2b heavy chain, and sense primers IGKV4-1-a and IgK-d and antisense primer rIgK-a were synthesized for use in the amplification of the variable region of κ chain (see Table 1).

Next, PCR was conducted by using the thus synthesized single chain cDNA of the hybridoma for the template. The primers used were the combinations of 1031H-a and mIgG2b-a for heavy chain (i), mIgG2b-c and mIgG2b-a for heavy chain (ii), IGKV4-1-a and rIgK-a for light chain (i), and IgK-d and rIgK-a for light chain (ii). PCR was conducted by heating the reaction solution at 96° C. for 2 minutes and then repeating 25 cycles of heating at 96° C. for 30 seconds, 55° C. for 30 seconds, and 72° C. for 30 seconds.

The resulting products were directly determined for their sequence, and it was found that the heavy chains (i) (ii), and the light chains (i) (ii) respectively had the same sequence. With regard to the light chain, 5′ terminal was incomplete, and the translation initiation codon could not be identified. Accordingly, sequence showing homology in the frame region was searched in the mouse κ chain whose sequence has already been reported. FIGS. 3 and 4 (SEQ ID NOS: 127 to 130) show sequences (the nucleotide sequence and the amino acid sequence) of the heavy chain and the light chain of variable region of antibody F1031-13-2. In the sequence, the underlined part is the sequence from the primers.

(2) Construction of Plasmid Expressing Chimeric Antibody (F1031)

Plasmid expressing chimeric antibody F1031-13-2 was constructed by the method similar to that of Example 1-1) (construction of plasmid expressing F1024 chimeric antibody). More specifically, by referring to the sequence obtained in 1-2)(1), primers for constructing the heavy chain expressing plasmid, namely, primer 13HcS-EcoR of the 5′ side having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRI added immediately upstream of the initiation codon of the variable region, and primer 13HcA-Nhe of the 3′ having the recognition site for restriction enzyme NheI which can be ligated to the human constant region added without altering the amino acid sequence of the 3′ side of the variable region were synthesized. Although the sequence on the 5′ side of the light chain was not identified, the sequence on the 5′ terminal side was estimated by homology search, and primer 13LcS-EcoR of the 5′ side having the recognition sequence for restriction enzyme EcoRI added immediately upstream of the initiation codon of the variable region, and primer 13LcA-BsiW of the 3′ side having the recognition site for restriction enzyme BsiWI which can be ligated to the human constant region added without altering the amino acid sequence of the 3′ side of the variable region were synthesized (see Table 1).

Next, PCR was conducted by using the single strand cDNA synthesized in 1-2)(1) for the template. The reaction was conducted by heating at 90° C. for 2 minutes, and then repeating 30 cycles of (1) heating at 94° C. for 30 seconds, (2) 50° C. for 30 seconds, and (3) 72° C. for 1 minute. The resulting PCR product for constructing the heavy chain was digested with EcoRI and NheI, and the PCR product for constructing the light chain was digested with EcoRI and BsiWI, and the fragments of about 0.4 kb were collected from the respective digestion products.

Next, the plasmid pTK-2370 for expressing the heavy chain and the plasmid pTK-2344 for expressing the light chain of the F1024 chimeric antibody constructed in Example 1-1) were digested with EcoRI and NheI, and EcoRI and BsiWI, respectively, to collect the fragments of about 5.7 kb and 4.8 kb. The fragments from the PCR product were then inserted in these fragments, and E. coli competent cell JM109 was transformed by the standard method to obtain plasmid pF31-13HU for expressing the heavy chain and plasmid pF31-13L for expressing the light chain of the F1031-13-2. Since the 5′ terminal sequence of the light chain of the F1031-13-2 includes the sequence newly confirmed in the construction of the present invention, the sequences of the heavy chain variable region and the light chain variable region of the expression plasmid are shown again in FIGS. 5 and 6 (SEQ ID NOS: 131 to 134). In the sequence, the underlined part is the sequence from the construction primers.

(3) Confirmation of Expression of Chimeric Antibody Fusion Protein

The heavy chain expression plasmid and the light chain expression plasmid constructed in 1-2)(2) were introduced in COS-1 cells to confirm the expression of the chimeric antibody fusion protein.

First, COS-1 cells were inoculated in DMEM supplemented with 10% inactivated FBS in 6-well plate at 2.0 to 2.4×10⁵ cells/well, and the cells were incubated overnight at 37° C. and in the presence of 5% CO₂. On the next day, 6 μL of FuGENE6 was mixed with 1 μg of the heavy chain expression plasmid and 1 μg of the light chain expression plasmid, and the mixture was added dropwise to the COS-1 cells according to the protocol attached to the FuGENE6. In the procedure as described above, the following treatment was conducted before the dropwise addition of the FuGENE/plasmid mixture to the cells in order to prevent contamination of the immunoglobulin from FBS. Namely, after incubating the COS-1 cells overnight and removing the cell supernatant, the cells were washed twice with the production medium (Hybridoma-SFM (Invitrogen Corporation) or Cellgro Complete Serum Free Medium (Mediatech)), and subsequently, 2 mL/well of the production medium was added to the plate. The FuGENE/plasmid mixture was then added dropwise to the cells. After incubating the cells at 37° C. and in the presence 5% CO₂ for 3 to 4 days, the supernatant was recovered and the amount of the chimeric antibody fusion protein in the supernatant was confirmed by the procedure similar to the EIA procedure described in Example 2 except that the HRP-labeled antibody used in the detection was HRP-labeled anti human κ light chain antibody (DAKO) instead of the peroxidase-labeled UTI antibody. It was then found that the chimeric antibody was expressed at approximately 10-20 μg/mL. The culture supernatant produced in this experiment was used in the experiment examining inhibitory activity for IL-6 production in Example 1-3)(1).

1-3) Confirmation Tests of Activities

(1) Confirmation Test of IL-6 Production Inhibitory Activity

The following experiments were conducted to examine activity of the antibody functional domains of the antibody fusion proteins prepared in Examples 1-1) and 1-2).

Cell line U-373 MG from human glioma was inoculated in MEM (SIGMA) containing 2% inactivated FBS in a 96-well plate at 1×10⁴ cells/well, and the cells were incubated overnight at 37° C. and in the presence of 5% CO₂. The following solutions were prepared on the next day.

1) Physiological saline (Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) containing 0.2% human serum albumin (SIGMA) (hereinafter referred to as 0.2% HSA/physiological saline)

2) MEM containing 0.2% human serum albumin (SIGMA) (hereinafter referred to as 0.2% HSA/MEM)

3) A solution prepared by mixing 0.2% HSA/physiological saline and 0.2% HSA/MEM at a ratio of 1:1 (hereinafter referred to as 0.1% HSA/1/2MEM)

4) MEM containing 4% human serum (hereinafter referred to as 4% HS/MEM)

5) A solution prepared by diluting LPS (E. coli 0111:B4, SIGMA) with physiological saline to 1 mg/mL, sonicating for 10 minutes, and diluting with 0.2% HSA/MEM to 200 ng/mL (hereinafter referred to as 200 ng/mL LPS B4)

6) A solution prepared by mixing 4% HS/MEM and 200 ng/mL LPS B4 at a ratio of 9:1 (hereinafter referred to as 2×(HS+LPS))

The analyte sample was diluted to twice the target concentration with 0.2% HSA/physiological saline to prepare the sample. Culture supernatant of the overnight culture of U-373MG cells was discarded, and the cells were washed twice with 0.1% HSA/1/2MEM. To these cells, 100 μL/well of a mixture of equal amounts of the analyte sample and 2×(HS+LPS) was added, and the cells were incubated in the presence of 5% CO₂ at 37° C. for about 18 hours. Amount of the IL-6 in the culture supernatant was then detected using human IL-6 detection kit (Eli-PAIR hIL-6; Invitorgen Corporation). FIGS. 18 to 20 show typical test results.

It was then demonstrated that the antibody activity was maintained in the chimeric antibody fusion proteins in the case of the antibodies exhibiting the CD14 inhibitory activity, whereas the F1031-13-2 antibody exhibiting no CD14 inhibitory activity did not show the inhibitory activity when it was produced in the form of a chimeric antibody fusion protein. In FIG. 20, the results are shown in relation to the IL-6 production (100%) of the control having no sample added (IL-6% Control).

(2) Confirmation Test of Enzyme Inhibitory Activity

Trypsin inhibitory activity was measured in order to confirm the activity of the domain having the enzyme inhibitory function of the antibody fusion proteins produced in Examples 1-1) and 1-2).

The analyte sample was diluted to ten times the target concentration with 0.1 mol/L NaCl/5 mmol/L CaCl₂/20 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.4) (hereinafter referred to as dilution solution). In the meanwhile, 1 μg/mL of trypsin from human pancreas (Athens Research and Technology) was prepared with 0.1 w/v % BSA/1 mmol/L HCl, and synthetic substrate S2222 (TESTZYM, Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was diluted with water to 4 mmol/L.

After preparation of the reagents, 70 μL of the dilution solution, 10 μL of 1 μg/mL human trypsin solution, and 10 μL of analyte sample solution were placed in 96-well microtiter plate (Nunc), and the solution was incubated at 37° C. for 3 minutes. Next, 10 μL of synthetic substrate S2222 solution was added to the well, and the solution was incubated at 37° C. for another 60 minutes. The reaction was then terminated with 20v/v % aqueous solution of acetic acid, and absorbance of the reaction solution at 405 nm was measured. FIG. 21 shows the typical results. It was then found that enzyme inhibitory activity was substantially retained in the chimeric antibody fusion protein.

Example 2 Mass Production of Antibody Fusion Protein

(1) Mass Production of F1024S-D2(3) and F1031-13S-D2 (3)

In order to conduct the mass production of F1024S-D2(3), transient expression system using COS-1 cell was employed. More specifically, 1700 mL of DMEM containing 10% inactivated FBS and 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.0 to 7.6) was added to CellsTACK-10 Chamber (Corning), and 21×10⁶ COS-1 cells were inoculated in this medium. The interior of the CellsTACK-10 Chamber was replaced with a gas mixture containing 5% CO₂, and after sealing the container, the medium was incubated at 37° C.

Transfection was conducted 4 days after the inoculation by the following procedure.

First, 2.12 mL of FuGENE6 transfection reagent (Rosch Diagnostics K.K.) was added to 63.6 mL of DMEM, and stirred. After 5 minutes, 530 μg each of the plasmid pTK2370 coding for the heavy chain and the plasmid pTK2344 coding for the light chain prepared in Example 1 were added, and after stirring, the culture was allowed to stand for 15 minutes at room temperature. In the meanwhile, the medium of the CellsTACK-10 Chamber was replaced with 1300 mL of Hybridoma-SFM (Invitrogen Corporation) containing 10 mM HEPES (pH 7.0-7.6) (hereinafter referred to as production medium), and the thus prepared mixture of the transfection reagent and the plasmid was added. After incubating at 37° C. for 3 days, the production medium was collected. 1300 mL of new production medium was added to the CellsTACK-10 Chamber, and the production medium was again collected after 4 days.

Production of F1031-13S-D2(3) was similarly conducted by using the plasmid pF31-13HU coding for the heavy chain and the plasmid F31-13L coding for the light chain prepared in Example 1.

(2) Assay System (EIA) of F1024S-D2(3) and F1031-13S-D2 (3)

Concentration of the F1024S-D2(3) was measured by sandwich EIA.

A sandwich EIA system was prepared by using a recombinant human CD14 comprising the full length 356 amino acids of the human CD14 prepared by the procedure similar to that in Example 6 for the immobilized protein, and peroxidase-labeled UTI antibody produced by the procedure described in JP 2002-14104 A for the labeled antibody.

F1024S-D2(3) prepared in Example 1 was used for the standard. More specifically, recombinant human CD14 was diluted with PBS (pH 7.4) to 4 μg/mL, and 50 μL was added to each well of NUNC-Immuno plate Maxisorp (NUNC). After allowing to react overnight at 4° C., the well was washed three times with 0.05% Tween 20/0.9% sodium chloride solution, and 100 μL of PBS (pH 7.4) containing 2% StabilGuard (SurModics, Inc.) was added to the well for blocking. Next, diluted specimens of the analytes and the standard were prepared by using PBS (pH 7.4) containing 0.1% BSA for the dilution solution. In the meanwhile, peroxidase-labeled UTI antibody diluted with PBS (pH 7.4) containing 10% rabbit serum was prepared. 25 μl, of the diluted peroxidase-labeled antibody and 25 μL of the diluted specimen were added to the well, and the reaction was allowed to take place at 37° C. for 1 hour. After the termination of the reaction, the well was washed three times with 0.05% Tween 20/0.9% sodium chloride solution, and 50 μL of tetramethylbenzidine solution (BioFX) was added to each well. After allowing the reaction to take place at room temperature for about 20 minutes, the reaction was terminated by adding 50 μL of 1 mol/L hydrochloric acid solution, and absorbance at 450 nm was measured with a plate spectrophotometer.

The concentration was measured for F1031-13S-D2(3) in the same manner. In the measurement, F1031-13S-D2(3) having known concentration was used for the standard.

(3) Mass Purification of F1024S-D2(3)

Unless otherwise noted, the following procedure was conducted at 4° C.

The COS culture supernatant produced in Example 2(1) was applied to 1 μm capsule cartridge filter (Advantec Toyo Kaisha, Ltd.) connected to 0.22 μm Fluorodyne II DFLP Filter (Nihon Pall Ltd.) to thereby remove the insoluble content in the culture supernatant. The filtrate was applied to ProSep-vA column (Nihon Millipore K.K.) which had been preliminarily equilibrated with PBS (SIGMA), and the non-adsorbed contents were washed off with PBS. Then, non-specifically adsorbed contents were washed off with 10×PBS (SIGMA) and eluted with 25 mM Glycine-HCl (pH 2.5) to recover F1024S-D2(3). The resulting eluted fraction was adjusted to pH 5 by adding Macllvaine buffer solution. The precipitate in the eluted fraction was removed by centrifugation, and the supernatant after the centrifugation was passed through a dialysis tube (SPECTRUM) having a cut-off molecular weight of 10,000 for dialysis against physiological saline. The dialyzate was used as the purified standard.

(4) Mass Purification of F1031-13S-D2(3)

Unless otherwise noted, the following procedure was conducted at 4° C.

The COS culture supernatant produced in Example 2(1) was applied to 1 μm capsule cartridge filter (Advantec Toyo Kaisha, Ltd.) connected to 0.22 μm Fluorodyne II DFLP Filter (Nihon Pall Ltd.) to thereby remove the insoluble content in the culture supernatant. The filtrate was applied to ProSep-vA column which had been preliminarily equilibrated with PBS (SIGMA), and the non-adsorbed contents were washed off with PBS. Then, non-specifically adsorbed contents were washed off with 1M sodium chloride solution and eluted with 100 mM Glycine-HCl (pH 2.7) to recover F1031-13S-D2(3). The resulting eluted fraction was neutralized by adding 1M Tris-hydrochloric acid (pH 8.0), and this solution was passed through a dialysis tube (SPECTRUM) having a cut-off molecular weight of 3,500 for dialysis against physiological saline. The dialysate was concentrated using YM10 ultrafiltration membrane (Nihon Millipore K.K.), and the concentrate was used as the purified standard.

Example 3 Evaluation of Efficacy (In Vitro)

3-1) Confirmation of Antibody Activity

(1) Confirmation of Inhibitory Activity for LPS-Induced IL-6 Production in Human Vascular Endothelial Cell

Endothelial cells of the human umbilical cord vein (HUVEC, Sanko Junyaku Co., Ltd.) separated by PBS(−) containing 0.05% trypsin and 0.02% EDTA were suspended in RPMI 1640 medium (SIGMA) containing 10% of human serum (TENNESSEE BLOOD SERVICE CORPORATION), and inoculated in 96-well plate at 2×10⁴ cells/well. The cells were incubated overnight at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂. After the incubation, LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to a final concentration of 10 ng/mL, and simultaneously, F1024S-D2(3) was added to final concentrations of 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 μg/mL. After incubating at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for 6 hours, the IL-6 in the culture supernatant was measured by using human IL-6 EIA kit (Diaclone Research) according to the attached protocol. IC₅₀ value for the inhibition of the IL-6 production by the F1024S-D2(3) was 0.38 μg/mL. This result revealed that F1024S-D2(3) inhibits cytokine production of the human vascular endothelial cell induced by LPS which is a component constituting the Gram-negative bacteria.

The inhibitory activity of the F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2), or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(2) Confirmation of Inhibitory Activity for LPS-Induced Expression of E-Selectin in Human Vascular Endothelial Cell

Endothelial cells of human umbilical cord vein (HUVEC, Sanko Junyaku Co., Ltd.) were inoculated by the procedure described in Example 3-1)(1), and after incubation, LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to a final concentration of 10 ng/mL simultaneously with the addition of F1024S-D2(3) to final concentrations of 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 μg/mL. After incubating at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for 6 hours, the culture medium was removed, and the cells were washed twice with PBS(−). After drying with a dryer, 100 μL/well of PBS(−) containing 2% paraformaldenyde was added. After incubating at room temperature for 20 minutes, the cells were washed three times with PBS(−), and 100 μL/well of biotinylated anti-human E-Selectin antibody (Cosmo Bio Co., Ltd.) diluted with RPMI 1640 containing 1% human serum was added, and the cells were incubated at room temperature for 60 minutes. The cells were then washed 3 times with PBS(−), and after adding 100 μL/well of peroxidase-labeled streptavidin solution (Dako Cytomation), the cells were incubated at room temperature for another 30 minutes. After washing, 100 μL/well of chromogenic substrate (TMB) was added, and the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 30 minutes, and the reaction was terminated by adding 100 μL/well of 2N sulfuric acid. Absorbance was measured at wavelengths of 450 nm and 650 nm, ΔOD (450 nm-650 nm) was used for the amount of E-Selectin expressed. IC₅₀ value for the inhibition of the E-Selectin expression by the F1024S-D2(3) was 0.43 μg/mL. This result revealed that LPS-induced expression of the adhesion molecule in the human vascular endothelial cell is inhibited by the F1024S-D2(3).

The inhibitory activity of the F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(3) Confirmation of Inhibitory Activity for LPS Induced TNF-α Production in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell

Normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMC, BioWhittaker Inc.) were suspended in RPMI 1640 containing 10% human serum and 25 mM HEPES (SIGMA), and inoculated in 96-well plate at 2.5×10⁵ cells/well. F1024S-D2(3) was added to final concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/mL, and after allowing to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to a final concentration of 0.1 ng/mL. After incubating at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for 6 hours, TNF-α in the culture supernatant was measured using human TNF-α EIA kit (Diaclone Research) according to the protocol attached to the kit.

IC₅₀ value for the inhibition of the TNF-α production by F1024S-D2(3) was 0.58 μg/mL. This result revealed that LPS-induced cytokine production in the human leukocyte is inhibited by the F1024S-D2(3).

The inhibitory activity of the F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(4) Confirmation of Inhibitory Activity for Enhancement of LPS-Induced Procoagulant Activity (PCA) in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell

Mononuclear cells of normal human peripheral blood (hPBMC, BioWhittaker Inc.) were inoculated by the procedure described in Example 3-1)(3), and F1024S-D2(3) was added to final concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/mL, and after allowing the cells to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes, LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to a final concentration of 0.1 ng/mL. After incubating at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for 6 hours, PCA of the cell suspension was measured by using normal human plasma (DADE BEHRING INC.). More specifically, after diluting the suspension 2.5 folds with 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4) solution containing 0.15M NaCl and 0.1% BSA, the cells were lysed by ultrasonication (SIMAZU) for 20 seconds. This sample was placed in a coagulometer (AMAX CS190, MC Medical, Inc.). 20 μL of the sample was collected from the coagulometer, and after adding 20 μL of 25 mM CaCl₂, the sample was incubated at 37° C. for 3 minutes. Coagulation reaction was started by adding 90 μL of normal human plasma, and coagulation time was measured. The IC₅₀ value for the PCA inhibition by F1024S-D2(3) calculated from the coagulation time was 20.86 μg/mL. This result revealed that F1024S-D2(3) inhibits enhancement of the LPS-induced PCA in human leucocyte.

The inhibitory activity of the F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(5) Confirmation of Inhibitory Activity for LPS-Induced TNF-α Production in Rabbit Whole Blood

The blood was collected from auricular artery of male rabbit (New Zealand white, 3.4 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.), and after adding 10 unit/mL of heparin (Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) to the collected whole blood, it was transferred to microtubes and F1024S-D2(3) was added to final concentrations of 0.3, 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/mL. After incubating at room temperature for 30 minutes, LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to a final concentration of 0.1 ng/mL.

After incubating at 37° C. for 6 hours, plasma was separated by centrifuging at 4° C. and at 8000 rpm (TOMY) for 10 minutes, and TNF-α in the plasma was measured by sandwich ELISA using anti-rabbit TNF-α antibody. More specifically, 100 μL of plasma diluted with PBS(−) containing 1% BSA was moved to a plate having 4 μg/mL of anti-rabbit TNF-α antibody (BD Biosciences) immobilized thereon, and the plate was incubated at room temperature for 2 hours. The well was washed three times with 400 μL/well of PBS(−) containing 0.05% Tween 20, and 100 μL/well of biotinylated anti-rabbit TNF-α antibody solution (2 μg/mL, BD Biosciences) was added. After incubating at room temperature for 1 hour and washing, 100 μL/well of peroxidase labeled streptavidin solution (Invitrogen Corporation) was added, and the well was incubated at room temperature for 30 minutes. After washing, 100 μL/well of chromogenic substrate (TMB) was added, and the reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 30 minutes and 100 μL/well of 2N sulfuric acid was added to terminate the reaction. Absorbance was measured at 450 nm and 650 nm, and amount of the TNF-α produced in the sample was calculated. IC₅₀ value for the inhibition of the TNF-α production by F1024S-D2(3) was 0.83 μg/mL. This result revealed that LPS-induced cytokine production in the rabbit whole blood is inhibited by F1024S-D2(3).

The inhibitory activity of the F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

3-2) Confirmation of Enzyme Inhibitory Activity

In order to confirm the activity of enzyme inhibitory functional domains of F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3), inhibitory activities for various enzymes were measured as described below. In the assay system, the protein concentration of the analyte sample was measured by using bovine γ globulin (Nippon Bio-Rad Laboratories K.K.) for the standard and using protein assay staining solution (Nippon Bio-Rad Laboratories K.K.), and the molar concentration was calculated from the deduced molecular weight of the antibody fusion protein. The test results are shown in FIGS. 22 to 25 in which the y axis represents the residual activity of the enzyme, and the x axis represents protein concentration of the analyte sample in the reaction solution.

(1) Inhibitory Activity for Factor Xa

F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3) were serially diluted with a dilution solution prepared by mixing 0.14M sodium chloride/5 mM calcium chloride/20 mM Tris-hydrochloric acid buffer solution (pH 7.4) and 10% BSA at a ratio of 99:1 (this solution being hereinafter referred to as the dilution solution) to prepare the samples for measuring inhibitory activity. In the meanwhile, Human Factor Xa (Enzyme Research Laboratories Ltd.) was diluted with the dilution solution to 0.1 U/mL, and this solution was used as the Factor Xa solution. Synthetic substrate S-2222 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was also diluted with the dilution solution to 2 mM, and this solution was used as the S-2222 solution. After the preparation of the reagents, 10 μL of sample for measuring the inhibitory activity, 50 μL of the dilution solution, and 20 μL of the Factor Xa solution were placed in the wells of 96-well microtiter plate (Nunc). After incubating at 37° C. for 5 minutes, the S-2222 solution was added in 20 μL/well, and incubation at 37° C. was continued for another 30 minutes. The reaction was then terminated by adding 50 μL of 20% solution of acetic acid to each well, and absorbance at a wavelength of 405 nm was measured.

The control was prepared by mixing 20 μL of the Factor Xa solution with 60 μL of the diluting solution, incubating the mixture at 37° C. for 5 minutes, adding 20 μL of the S-2222 solution, incubating the mixture at 37° C. for 30 minutes, and adding 50 μL of the 20% solution of acetic acid. The results shown in FIG. 22 confirmed retention of the FXa inhibitory activity.

Inhibitory activity of F1031-13S-D2(3) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(2) Inhibitory Activity for Factor XIa

F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3) were serially diluted with the dilution solution (as described above) to prepare the samples for measuring inhibitory activity. In the meanwhile, Human Factor XIa (American Diagnostica Inc.) was diluted with the dilution solution to 750 ng/mL, and this solution was used as the Factor XIa solution. Synthetic substrate S-2366 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was also diluted with water to 5 mM, and this solution was used as the S-2366 solution.

After the preparation of the reagents, 10 μL of the sample for inhibitory activity measurement, 60 μL of the dilution solution, and 10 μL of the Factor XIa solution were placed in the wells of 96-well microtiter plate (Nunc). After incubating at 37° C. for 5 minutes, 20 μL of the S-2366 solution was added to the well, and incubation at 37° C. was continued for another 30 minutes. Next, the reaction was terminated by adding 100 μL of 20% acetic acid solution to the well, and the reaction solution was measured for absorbance at a wavelength of 405 nm.

The control used was the one prepared by mixing 70 μL, of the dilution solution with 10 μL of the Factor XIa solution, incubating the mixture at 37° C. for 5 minutes, adding 20 μL of the S-2366 solution to the mixture, incubating at 37° C. for 30 minutes, and adding 100 μL of 20% acetic acid solution.

The results shown in FIG. 23 reveal FXIa inhibitory activity of D2(3).

Inhibitory activity of F1031-13S-D2(3) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(3) Inhibitory Activity for Elastase

F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3) were serially diluted with the dilution solution (as described above) to prepare the samples for measuring inhibitory activity. In the meanwhile, Elastase, Human Neutrophil (Athens Research & Technology) which has been dissolved in 500 mM sodium chloride/50 mM sodium acetate (pH 5.5) and cryopreserved was diluted with the dilution solution to 20 μg/mL, and this solution was used as the elastase solution. Synthetic substrate S-2484 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was diluted with dimethylsulfoxide and stored at a low temperature, and diluted with water to 2 mM immediately before use as the S-2484 solution.

After the preparation of the reagents, 10 μL of the sample for inhibitory activity measurement, 70 μL of the dilution solution, and 10 μL of the elastase solution were placed in the wells of 96-well microtiter plate (Nunc). After incubating at 37° C. for 3 minutes, 10 μL of the S-2484 solution was added to the well, and incubation at 37° C. was continued for exactly 10 minutes. Next, the reaction was terminated by adding 50 μL of 20% acetic acid solution to the well, and the reaction solution was measured for absorbance at a wavelength of 405 nm.

The control was prepared by mixing 10 μL of the elastase solution with 80 μL of the diluting solution, incubating the mixture at 37° C. for 3 minutes, adding 10 μL of the S-2484 solution, incubating at 37° C. for exactly 10 minutes, and adding 50 μL of 20% solution of acetic acid. The results shown in FIG. 24 confirmed retention of the elastase inhibitory activity.

Inhibitory activity of fusion proteins F1031-13S-D2(3) and F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2), or F1024S-SLPI(D2) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

(4) Plasma Kallikrein

F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3) were serially diluted with the dilution solution (as described above) to prepare the samples for measuring inhibitory activity. In the meanwhile, Kalliklein from human plasma (Sigma-Aldrich Co.) was diluted with the dilution solution to 20 mU/mL, and this solution was used as the plasma kallikrein solution. Synthetic substrate S-2302 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was also diluted with water to 4 mM, and this solution was used as the S-2302 solution.

After the preparation of the reagents, 10 μL of the sample for inhibitory activity measurement, 70 μL of the dilution solution, and 10 μL of the plasma kallikrein solution were placed in the wells of 96-well microtiter plate (Nunc). After incubating at 37° C. for 3 minutes, 10 μL of the S-2302 solution was added to the well, and incubation at 37° C. was continued for another 30 minutes. Next, the reaction was terminated by adding 50 μL of 20% acetic acid solution to the well, and the reaction solution was measured for absorbance at a wavelength of 405 nm.

The control was prepared by mixing 10 μL of the plasma kallikrein solution with 80 μL of the diluting solution, incubating at 37° C. for 3 minutes, adding 10 μL of the S-2302 solution, incubating at 37° C. for 30 minutes, and adding 50 μL of 20% solution of acetic acid. The results are shown in FIG. 25.

Inhibitory activity of F1031-13S-D2(3) is evaluated by using a similar assay system.

3-3) Confirmation of Inhibitory Action for Coagulation

(1) Confirmation of Extension of Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) in Human and Rabbit

The normal human plasma used was Dade Ci-Trol Level 1 (DADE BEHRING INC.). The rabbit plasma was obtained by collecting blood from auricular artery of male rabbit (New Zealand white, 2.6 to 2.7 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) using a syringe containing 1/10 volume of 3.8% sodium citrate (sodium citrate for measuring erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Iwaki Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), and centrifuging at 4° C. and at 3000 rpm (05PR-22, Hitachi) for 10 minutes.

To 113 μL of human or rabbit plasma, 20 μL of F1024S-D2(3)) solution was added to final concentrations of 0, 1.56, 3.13, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL, and the plasma was placed in a coagulometer (AMAX CS190, MC Medical, Inc.). 50 μL was collected from the coagulometer, and after addition of 50 μL of APTT measurement reagent (DADE BEHRING INC.) and 2 minute incubation, 50 μL of 25 mM CaCl₂ was added to measure the coagulation time. It was then found that F1024S-D2(3) extends the human and rabbit APTT in a concentration dependent manner, and extension of the human and rabbit APTT of 1.5 folds was attained at a concentration of 9.06 μg/mL and 40.96 μg/mL, respectively.

F1031-13S-D2(3) is evaluated for extension of APTT by using a similar assay system.

Example 4 Evaluation of In Vivo Effectiveness

4-1) Effect of the Fusion Protein on Improving Survival Rate of LPS-Induced Rabbit Sepsis Model

LPS-induced rabbit sepsis fatal model was prepared, and improvement in the survival rate by post-administration of the fusion protein was examined.

The LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model was prepared according to the method of Schimke et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 13875, 1998) by administering LPS (Salmonella Minnesota Re595, SIGMA) to auricular vein of a rabbit (New Zealand white, 1.8 to 2.6 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) at a dose of 15 μg/kg at 0, 5, and 24 hours. F1024S-D2(3) was administered to the auricular vein at a dose of 1 mg/kg at 2, 8, and 23 hours. Control group was administered with human immunoglobulin instead of the fusion protein. The survival was monitored until 48 hours after the administration, and Kaplan-Meier survival curve was depicted. It was then found that administration of F1024S-D2(3) improves the survival rate compared to the control group.

In the same assay system, administration of F1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2), and F1024S-SLPI(D2) also had the action of improving the survival rate.

4-2) Effect of the Fusion Protein on Improving Inflammation and Coagulation Parameters of LPS-Induced Rabbit Sepsis Model

LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model was prepared, and the effect on inflammation and coagulation parameters by the post-administration of the fusion protein was examined.

The LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model was prepared according to the method of Schimke et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 13875, 1998) by administering LPS (Salmonella Minnesota Re595, SIGMA) to auricular vein of a rabbit (New Zealand white, 1.8 to 2.6 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) at a dose of 10 μg/kg at 0, 5, and 24 hours. F1024S-D2(3) was administered to the auricular vein at a dose of 0.3, 1, and 3 mg/kg at 2, 8, and 23 hours. Control group was administered with 3 mg/kg of human immunoglobulin instead of the fusion protein.

Blood was collected (with addition of citric acid) from auricular artery before the LPS administration and at 1.5, 25, 26, 28 hours post administration to measure the inflammatory parameters and the coagulation parameters.

The inflammatory parameters used were leukocyte count and plasma TNF concentration, and the coagulation parameter used were platelet count and plasma antithrombin III activity.

The leukocyte count was measured by Sysmex F-820 (Sysmex Corporation). The TNF-α concentration was measured by sandwich ELISA using Purified Goat Anti-rabbit TNF Polyclonal Antibody (BD Biosciences) and Biotinylated Mouse Anti-rabbit TNF-α Monoclonal Antibody (BD Biosciences).

The antithrombin III activity was measured by TESTZYM ATIII 2 kit (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.).

The TNF-α concentration in plasma was evaluated “positive” when the concentration measured was equal to or higher than 0.4 ng/mL which is the detection limit of the sandwich ELISA, and “negative” when the measured value was less than 0.4 ng/mL. It was then found that the group administered with F1024S-D2(3) showed dose dependent improvement of the decrease of the leukocyte count (FIG. 27), increase of the TNF-α concentration in the plasma (Table 4), decrease of the platelet count (FIG. 28), and decrease of the antithrombin III activity (FIG. 29) compared to the control group. These results demonstrated improvement of the inflammation and coagulation parameters by the F1024S-D2(3).

In the same assay system, the group administered with the F1031-13S-D2(3) shows the effects of improving the decrease of the leukocyte count, increase of the TNF-α concentration in the plasma, decrease of the platelet count, and decrease of the antithrombin III activity compared to the control group.

TABLE 4 TNF-α concentration in plasma at 25 hours after the initial administration of LPS in LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model Dose of F1024S-D2(3) (mg/kg) Positive rate Control group 4/6   0.3 3/6 1 1/6 3 0/6

4-3) Effect of the Fusion Protein on Improving Decrease in Blood Pressure of LPS-Induced Rabbit Sepsis Model

LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model was prepared, and the effect of improving the decrease in blood pressure by the post-administration of the fusion protein was examined.

The LPS-induced rabbit sepsis model was prepared according to the method of Schimke et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 95: 13875, 1998) by administering LPS (Salmonella Minnesota Re595, SIGMA) to auricular vein of a rabbit (New Zealand white, 1.8 to 2.6 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) at a dose of 5 μg/kg at 0 and 5 hours. F1024S-D2(3) was administered to the auricular vein at a dose of 1 mg/kg at 2 hours after the initial administration of the LPS. Control group was administered with 1 mg/kg of human immunoglobulin instead of the fusion protein.

Before the LPS administration and at 4, 6, and 8 hours post administration, a catheter inserted in the carotid artery was connected to a blood pressure transducer (DT-XX, Japan BD Medical Systems) to measure the average arterial blood pressure. It was then found that the group administered with F1024S-D2(3) showed improvement in the decrease of the blood pressure compared to the control group (FIG. 30).

In the same assay system, the group administered with the F1031-13S-D2(3) shows the effects of improving the decrease in the blood pressure compared to the control group.

Example 5 Establishment of Strain Stably Producing Antibody Fusion Protein

5-1) Construction of Plasmid Expressing Strain Producing F1024S-D2(3) or F1024D-D2(3)

The expression plasmid used in establishing the strain which is capable of stably producing the F1024S-D2(3) or the F1024D-D2(3) was constructed by the procedure as described below.

The plasmid pTK-2370 expressing the heavy chain of F1024S-D2(3) and the plasmid pTK-2368 expressing the heavy chain of F1024D-D2(3) constructed in Example 1 were respectively digested with EcoRI and KpnI to recover the fragment of about 1.7 kb. The expression plasmid pM1103 having mouse DHFR expression unit and EF1α promoter (see WO97/42319) was also digested with EcoRI and KpnI to recover the fragment having about 7.9 kb. The fragment obtained by digesting the plasmid expressing heavy chain and the fragment obtained by digesting pM1103 were ligated, and plasmid pEFD2370 expressing the heavy chain of F1024S-D2(3) and plasmid pEFD2368 expressing the heavy chain of F1024D-D2(3) for producing the production strain were produced by transforming JM109 competent cell by the method commonly used in the art. In the meanwhile, the light chain expression plasmid is common to F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3), and this plasmid was constructed by the following procedure. Plasmid pTK-2344 for transient expression was digested by BamHI, and blunt-ended, and further digested with EcoRI to recover the fragment of 0.7 kb. pM1103 was digested with KpnI, and after blunt ending, it was digested with EcoRI to recover the fragment of about 7.9 kb. The fragment obtained by digesting pTK-2344 and the fragment obtained by digesting pM1103 were ligated, and plasmid pEFD2344 expressing the light chain for producing the production strain was produced by transforming JM109 competent cell by the method commonly used in the art.

5-2) Establishment of Transformant Strain Producing F1024S-D2(3) and F1024D-D2(3)

The plasmids expressing the heavy chain and the light chain constructed in Example 5-1) were co-transfected in DHFR gene-deleted CHO cell to establish the CHO transformant producing the chimeric antibody fusion protein. More specifically, CHO DXB11 derived from the conditioned medium of EX-CELL 325 PF CHO (JRH Bioscience) containing HT media Supplement (50×) Hybri-Max (SIGMA, used at a final concentration of 1×) and 200 mM L-Glutamine (SIGMA, used at a final concentration of 4 mM) was centrifuged on the day of the transfection, and inoculated in a flask at a concentration of 8×10⁶ cells/150 Roux. 12.5 μg of the plasmid expressing the heavy chain and 12.5 of the plasmid expressing the light chain (namely, pEFD2370+pEFD2344, or pEFD2368+pEFD2344) were prepared according to the protocol attached to FuGENE6 by using 125 μL of FuGENE6 (Roche Diagnostics K.K.), and they were co-transfected in the CHO DXB11 as described above. After incubating at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for 2 days, the cells were collected, and the cells were washed once with HT-free EX-CELL 325 PF CHO medium containing 4 mM L-Glutamine (hereinafter referred to as EX-CELL(HT-), and then once with PBS⁻, and suspended again in EX-CELL(HT-).

Next, the cells were newly inoculated in a 96-well plate at 3,000 to 48,000 cells/well, the cells were incubated at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂, and half of the medium was replaced with a new EX-CELL(HT-) at intervals of 3 days or 4 days. After incubating for about 1 month, the cells of the well in which the colony had formed were transferred to a new plate, and amount of the chimeric antibody in the culture supernatant was measured by the EIA procedure described in Example 2. The cell for which expression of the chimeric antibody in the supernatant had been confirmed was obtained as the transformant strain producing the chimeric antibody fusion protein.

5-3) Gene Amplification Using Methotrexate

Gene amplification was conducted by selectively cultivating the CHO transformant strain expressing the chimeric antibody fusion protein produced in Example 5-2) on EX-CELL(HT-) medium containing methotrexate (hereinafter referred to as MTX) to select the clone producing the chimeric antibody fusion protein of interest at a high yield.

(1) Establishment of CHO-F1024SC93T3L1

The transformant strain producing F1024S-D2(3) produced in the above 5-2) was suspended in EX-CELL (HT-) medium containing 100 nM MTX, and inoculated in 96-well plate, and half of the medium was changed with a fresh EX-CELL(HT-) containing 100 nM MTX in every 3 or 4 days. Incubation was continued at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ until colonies were formed. The resulting colonies were evaluated by EIA for their expression, and the increasingly produced clones were selected. The selected clones were subsequently suspended in EX-CELL(HT-) medium containing 300 nM MTX, and inoculated in 96-well plate for selective cultivation. A process similar to the selective cultivation using 100 nM MTX was conducted to thereby obtain a transformant strain having an about 20 times higher production rate. Clones having even higher production rate can also be obtained by repeating the process of selective cultivation by using cultures having 3 to 10 times higher MTX concentration.

(2) Establishment of CHO-F1024DC78U1

The transformant strain producing the F1024D-D2(3) produced in the above 5-2) was treated by the procedure similar to that of Example 5-2) to produce a strain with high production rate. The selective cultivation using MTX was conducted first at the MTX concentration of 100 nM, and then at the concentration of 1000 nM to thereby obtain a clone which produces the F1024D-D2(3) at about 60 μg/mL as measured by EIA.

Example 6 Analysis of Sequence Required for Binding to F1024 Antibody

6-1) Construction of Plasmid Expressing Amino Acid-Substituted Soluble Human CD14

In order to analyze the region recognized by the F1024 antibody, 31 types of amino acid-substituted soluble human CD14 shown in Table 5 were prepared. It is to be noted that the 1 amino acid-substituted CD14 having the 263rd Asn calculated from N terminal of the soluble CD14 molecule substituted with Gln is designated “N263Q”, and other 1 amino acid-substituted CD4 were designated in the same manner. In the meanwhile, the 2 amino acid-substituted CD14 having both the 294th Pro and the 296th Pro substituted with Ala is designated “P294/296A”. The plasmid expressing these substituted CD14 was constructed by the procedure as described below.

First, the plasmids expressing the modified sCD14(1-307) with amino acid substitution(s) were constructed by the method similar to that in the construction of the plasmid expressing the amino acid-substituted polypeptide described in WO02/42333 or US2004/0092712. For example, the plasmid expressing the modified sCD14(1-307) having the amino acid substitution P294H, P294/296A, Q295A, or P296H introduced therein was constructed by designing the primer set which was shown in Table 6 and coded for the amino acid substitution sequence, and using the primer set for the PCR. The codon coding for the amino acid-substituted part is shown in bold (underline) (Table 6).

Next, a DNA fragment having introduced therein an amino acid substitution (codon substitution) was produced by using recombinant PCR to construct a plasmid expressing soluble human amino acid-substituted CD14. More specifically, P294H, P294/296A, Q295A and P296H expression plasmids were constructed by the procedure as described below. Sense primer S1 (5′-GCG GCA GTA TGC TGA CAC GG-3′), SEQ ID NO: 209, sense primer S2 (5′-GAT AAC CTG ACA CTG GAC GGG AAT CCC TTC-3′), SEQ ID NO: 210, and sense primer S3 (5′-GCC ATC CAG AAT CTA GCG CT-3′); SEQ ID NO: 211, and antisense primer A1 (5′-GAA GGG ATT CCC GTC CAG TGT CAG GTT ATC-3′), SEQ ID NO: 212, antisense primer A2 (5′-ATT AGC CAG AAG TCA GAT GCT C-3′), SEQ ID NO: 213, and antisense primer A3 (5′-GGG CAT TGG CCA CAC CAG C-3′), SEQ ID NO: 214, were synthesized. PCR was conducted by using each of the above-mentioned plasmids expressing the amino acid-substituted modified sCD14(1-307) for the template and using sense primers S1 and A1. The amplification product was separated and purified by electrophoresis (PCR product A). PCR was also conducted by using pCAG356 for the template, and using sense primers S2 and A2, and the amplification product was separated and purified by electrophoresis (PCR product B). PCR was also conducted by using the mixture of PCR product A and PCR product B for the template and using sense primers S3 and A3, the PCR product was separated and purified by electrophoresis (PCR product C). Next, PCR product C was digested with PvuII and KpnI, and the fragment of about 0.2 kb was separated by electrophoresis and collected. In the meanwhile, pCAG356 was similarly digested with PvuII and KpnI, and the fragment of about 5.8 kb was collected by electrophoresis, and this fragment was ligated to the fragment of about 0.2 kb as described above. E. coli XL1-Blue (STRATGENE) was transformed by the method commonly used in the art to produce the desired expression plasmid. It is to be noted that pCAG356 is a plasmid produced by inserting CD14 gene (having a mutation introduced at the GPI anchoring site) derived from sCD14 expression plasmid pM1656 described in WO02/42333 in pCAGGS (GENE, Vol. 15 (1989) pp. 269-277).

TABLE 5  Amino acid-substituted soluble  human CD4 Substi- tuted Substitution human CD4 Amino acid Nucleotide (codon) N263Q 263rd Asn → Gln AAT → CAG L269A 269th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT L276A 276th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT K279A 279th Lys → Ala AAG → GCT L280A 280th Leu → Ala CTC → GCT V282A 282nd Val → Ala GTG → GCT L283A 283rd Leu → Ala CTC → GCT D284A 284th Asp → Ala GAT → GCT L285A 285th Leu → Ala CTC → GCT S286C 286th Ser → Cys AGC → TGT C287A 287th Cys → Ala TGC → GCT N288A 288th Asn → Ala AAC → GCT R289A 289th Arg → Ala AGA → GCT L290A 290th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT N291A 291st Asn → Ala AAC → GCT R292A 292nd Arg → Ala AGG → GCT A293S 293rd Ala → Ser GCG → AGC P294H 294th Pro → His CCG → CAC P294/ 294th and  CCG, CCT → GCG, GCT 296A 296th Pro → Ala Q295A 295th Gln → Ala CAG → GCT P296H 296th Pro → His CCT → CAC D297A 297th Asp → Ala GAC → GCT E298A 298th Glu → Ala GAG → GCT L299A 299th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT P300H 300th Pro → His CCC → CAC E301A 301st Glu → Ala GAG → GCT V302A 302nd Val → Ala GTG → GCT D303A 303rd Asp → Ala GAT → GCT N304A 304th Asn → Ala AAC → GCT L305A 305th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT L307A 307th Leu → Ala CTG → GCT

TABLE 6  Primer sequence Pro- SEQ duct Primer Sequence ID P294H Sense P294H-S1 5′-AGA CTG AAC AGG GCG CAC CAG CCT 179 GAC GAG-3′ Anti- P294H-A1 5′-CAG CTC GTC AGG CTG GTG CGC CCT 180 sense GTT CAG-3′ P294/ Sense H1043Sdmt 5′-C AGG GCG GCG CAG GCT GAC GA-3′ 181 296A Anti- H1043Admt 5′-TC GTC AGC CTG CGC CGC CCT G-3′ 182 sense Q295A Sense Q295A-S1 5′-AGG GCG CCG GCT CCT GAC GAG CTG 183 CCC GAG-3′ Anti- Q295A-A1 5′-CTC GTC AGG AGC CGG CGC CCT GTT 184 sense CAG TCT-3′ P296H Sense P296H-S1 5′-AAC AGG GCG CCG CAG CAC GAC GAG 185 CTG CCC-3′ Anti- P296H-A1 5′-CTC GGG CAG CTC GTC GTG CTG CGG 186 sense CGC CCT-3′

6-2) Expression of Amino Acid-Substituted Soluble Human CD14

The expression plasmid prepared in the above 7-1) was introduced in the COS-1 cell by the procedure as described below. 50 μL of FuGENE6 (Roche Diagnostics K.K.) was mixed with 12.5 μg of each plasmid DNA according to the attached protocol, and the mixture was added to the COS-1 cell grown to semiconfluency in 150 cm² flask. The cell was incubated for 3 to 4 days at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ for expression of the human amino acid-substituted CD14 in the supernatant. The expression was confirmed by EIA using the CD14 antibody described in WO02/42333. The expression was then confirmed for all of substitution products described in Table 5 except N263Q, L276A, L283A, N288A, and L290A.

6-3) Purification of Amino Acid-Substituted Soluble Human CD14

The soluble human amino acid-substituted CD14 was purified by the procedure as described below. The culture supernatant produced in the above 6-2) was passed through an affinity purification column (NHS-activated Sepharose4 Fast Flow; Amersham Biosciences) having anti-human CD14 antibody (3C10) immobilized for selective adsorption, and the column was eluted with 10 mM HCl. The eluted fraction was immediately neutralized by adding 10×PBS⁻ (SIGMA) to a concentration twice higher than the final concentration. The solution was subsequently dialyzed against physiological saline, and the dialysate was used as the purified specimen.

6-4) Competitive Experiment for F1024 Antibody

A competitive experiment was conducted by the following procedure to confirm the reactivity of each soluble human amino acid-substituted CD14 with the F1024 antibody. First, soluble CD14 molecule (356(CHO); production method is described below in 6-5)) was diluted with PBS⁻ to 4 μg/mL, and placed in 96-well plate (F8 MaxiSorp; NUNC) at 50 μL/well. After allowing to stand overnight at 4° C. and washing 3 times with the PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20, 200 μL/well of PBS containing 2% StabilGuard (SurModics, Inc.) was added to the well, and the solution was incubated at 37° C. for 30 minutes and stored at 4° C. In the meanwhile, amino acid-substituted soluble human CD14 that had been purified in Example 6-3) was diluted to 2 to 0.02 μg/mL with PBS⁻ containing 0.1% BSA. HRP-labeled F1024 antibody was diluted to 2 μg/mL with PBS containing 0.1% BSA, and the diluted HRP-labeled F1024 antibody was mixed with an equal amount of the human amino acid-substituted CD14 (25 μL+25 μL). Next, the solution was discarded from the wells of the plate having the soluble CD14 immobilized, and 50 μL/well of a mixed solution of amino acid-substituted CD14 and HRP-labeled F1024 was added. After the incubation at 37° C. for 2 hours, the plate was washed 5 times with PBS⁻ containing 0.05% Tween 20, and 50 μL/well of TMB solution (BioFX) was added to the well as the chromogenic substrate. The reaction was allowed to proceed at room temperature for 5 minutes, the reaction was terminated by adding 50 μL/well of 1M hydrochloric acid solution. Absorbance at 450 nm was measured with a plate spectrophotometer.

The results are shown in FIG. 31 in relation to the absorbance without the addition of the amino acid-substituted CD-14 (100%). In FIG. 31, 356(CHO) shows the absorbance when the soluble CD14 molecule used for the immobilization was added.

The absorbance decreased in many cases of the amino acid-substituted CD14 in a manner dependent on the concentration, and this confirmed their binding with the F1024 antibody in a manner competitive with the 356(CHO). However, in the cases of P294H, P294/296A, Q295A, and P296H, decrease in the absorbance was not confirmed irrespective of their concentration, and it was determined that binding to the F1024 antibody had not occurred (FIG. 31). These results demonstrated that 294th, 295th, and 296th Pro, Gln, and Pro in the CD14 are the regions critical in the binding to the F1024 antibody.

6-5) Preparation of Soluble Human CD14 Molecule (356(CHO))

Soluble human CD14 molecule (356(CHO)) was prepared by using CHO cell by the procedure as described below.

(1) Construction of Expression Plasmid

pM1656 described in WO02/42333 was digested with HindIII, and the fragment was blunt-ended with DNA Blunting Kit (TAKARA BIO INC.). It was digested with XbaI, and the fragment of about 1.4 kb was separated by electrophoresis and recovered. The expression plasmid pM1103 having mouse DHFR expression unit and EF1α promoter was digested with NotI, and the fragment was blunt-ended with DNA Blunting Kit (TAKARA BIO INC.). This fragment was subsequently digested with XbaI, and the fragment of about 8.0 kb was separated by electrophoresis and recovered. The fragment of about 1.4 kb from pM1656 was inserted for ligation in the fragment of about 8.0 kb, and the fragment was then used in transforming E. coli JM109 to thereby produce a plasmid expressing 356(CHO).

(2) Establishment of 356(CHO) Expressing Transformant Strain

This expression plasmid was introduced in DHFR gene-deleted CHO cell to establish the transformant strain expressing the 356(CHO). More specifically, 50 μL of FuGENE6 (Roche Diagnostics K.K.) was mixed with 12.5 μg of plasmid DNA according to the protocol attached to the FuGENE6, and the mixture was added to CHO DXB11 cell that had been grown by using Ham's F-12 medium (Invitrogen Corporation) containing 10% inactivated FBS to semiconfluency in 150 cm² flask. After incubating overnight at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂, the cells were separated and recovered on the next day by using trypsin, and the cells were re-inoculated in the 96-well plate by using α-MEM containing 10% inactivated dialyzed FBS (not containing ribonucleoside or deoxyribonucleoside) (Invitrogen Corporation) (hereinafter referred to as selective medium). The incubation was continued at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂, and half of the medium was replaced in every 3 or 4 days with a fresh selective medium. After continuing the incubation for 3 to 4 weeks, the cells in the well where colony development was observed was transferred to a new plate, and the amount of the soluble CD14 produced in the culture supernatant was assayed by EIA which used CD14 antibody described in WO02/42333. Clone No. P3 exhibiting high amount of expression was established as the soluble CD14-expressing strain.

(3) Gene Amplification Using Methotrexate (MTX)

In order to enhance expression of 356(CHO), selective cultivation of P3 clone was conducted in a selective medium containing MTX to thereby increase its production amount by gene amplification. More specifically, P3 clone produced in Example 6-5)(2) was suspended in the selective medium containing 15 nM MTX, and the cells were inoculated in 10 cm culture dish. Half of the medium was replaced in every 3 or 4 days with a fresh selective medium containing 15 nM MTX, and the incubation was continued at 37° C. in the presence of 5% CO₂ until colony formation was observed. The resulting colony was subcultured in the plate and the amount of 356(CHO) in the supernatant was confirmed by EIA to obtain clone P3-54 with an increase amount of expression.

(4) Production and Purification of 356(CHO)

The P3-54 clone produced in the above 6-5)(3) was incubated in a selective medium, and the 356(CHO) expressed in the supernatant was purified by repeating the procedure of Example 6-3).

Example 7 Modification of UTI Domain 2 of Antibody Fusion Protein (F1024S-D2)

7-1) Preparation of Modified Forms of UTI Domain 2 of F1024S-D2

For example, in the case of replacing 15th arginine in UTI domain with alanine (indicated as R15A), primers coding for about 10 amino acids at and near the part to which the mutation is to be introduced were designed and synthesized.

TABLE 7 SEQ Primer Name Base Sequence ID Sense D2-R15A-s 5′ GGC CCC TGC GCA GCC TTC ATC CAG CTC 3′ 187 Anti- D2-R15A-a 5′ GAT GAA GGC TGC GCA GGG GCC CCG GAC 3′ 188 sense

Next, PCR was conducted again by using pTK-2355 for the template and using each of the primer pairs [IgG4-w and D2-R15A-s] and [pEF2ce-27 and D2-R15A-a]. The resulting amplification products were mixed and again subjected to PCR using primer pair [IgG4-w and pEF2ce-27] (Table 8).

The amplification product was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and NotI, and subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis. After extracting the fragments, they were ligated by T4 DNA ligase to the vector part of the pTK-2355 which had been similarly cleaved with the BamHI and NotI to thereby construct plasmid (pTK-2730) which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of modified F1024S-D2 having the R15A mutation introduced therein. This plasmid was cotransfected in COS-1 cell with the light chain expression plasmid (pTK-2344) for expression of modified F1024S-D2(R15A) in the culture supernatant. After confirming the expression in the culture supernatant, the expressed product was purified by Prosep-A column.

By using a similar procedure, 80 modified forms of UTI domain 2 of the F1024S-D2 shown in Table 9 were prepared, and they were confirmed to retain their ability to bind to CD14 antigen. The amino acid sequences of the modified UTI domain 2 shown in Table 9 are shown in FIGS. 32 to 35.

TABLE 8 Primer SEQ Name Base Sequence ID IgG4-w 5′ AATGTCTTCTCATGCTCCGTG 3′ 189 pEF2ce-27 5′ CATCAATGTATCTTATCATCTCT 3′ 190

TABLE 9 Modified UTI domain 2 of F1024S-D2 FIG. ID SEQ ID pTK-2730 (R15A) 32 27 pTK-2731 (R15C) 32 28 pTK-2732 (R15D) 32 29 pTK-2733 (R15E) 32 30 pTK-2734 (R15F) 32 31 pTK-2735 (R15G) 32 32 pTK-2736 (R15H) 32 33 pTK-2737 (R15I) 32 34 pTK-2738 (R15K) 32 35 pTK-2739 (R15L) 32 36 pTK-2740 (R15M) 32 37 pTK-2741 (R15N) 32 38 pTK-2742 (R15P) 32 39 pTK-2743 (R15Q) 32 40 pTK-2744 (R15S) 32 41 pTK-2745 (R15T) 32 42 pTK-2746 (R15V) 32 43 pTK-2747 (R15W) 32 44 pTK-2748 (R15Y) 32 45 pTK-2824 (R11S/R15I/Q19K/Y46D) 32 46 pTK-2825 (R11S/R15L/Q19K/Y46D) 32 47 pTK-2826 (R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D) 32 48 pTK-2827 (R11S/R15V/Q19K/Y46D) 32 49 pTK-2866(R11S/R15T/Q19A/Y46D) 33 50 pTK-2867 (R11S/R15T/Q19C/Y46D) 33 51 pTK-2868 (R11S/R15T/Q19D/Y46D) 33 52 pTK-2869 (R11S/R15T/Q19E/Y46D) 33 53 pTK-2870 (R11S/R15T/Q19F/Y46D) 33 54 pTK-2871 (R11S/R15T/Q19G/Y46D) 33 55 pTK-2872 (R11S/R15T/Q19H/Y46D) 33 56 pTK-2873 (R11S/R15T/Q19I/Y46D) 33 57 pTK-2874 (R11S/R15T/Q19L/Y46D) 33 58 pTK-2875 (R11S/R15T/Q19M/Y46D) 33 59 pTK-2876 (R11S/R15T/Q19N/Y46D) 33 60 pTK-2877 (R11S/R15T/Q19P/Y46D) 33 61 pTK-2878 (R11S/R15T/Y46D) 33 62 pTK-2879 (R11S/R15T/Q19R/Y46D) 33 63 pTK-2880 (R11S/R15T/Q19S/Y46D) 33 64

TABLE 10 Modified UTI domain 2 of F1024S-D2 FIG. ID SEQ ID pTK-2881 (R11S/R15T/Q19T/Y46D) 33 65 pTK-2882 (R11S/R15T/Q19V/Y46D) 33 66 pTK-2883 (R11S/R15T/Q19W/Y46D) 33 67 pTK-2884 (R11S/R15T/Q19Y/Y46D) 33 68 pTK-2889 (R11S/R15T/F17A/Y46D) 34 69 pTK-2890 (R11S/R15T/F17C/Y46D) 34 70 pTK-2891 (R11S/R15T/F17D/Y46D) 34 71 pTK-2892 (R11S/R15T/F17E/Y46D) 34 72 pTK-2893 (R11S/R15T/F17G/Y46D) 34 73 pTK-2894 (R11S/R15T/F17H/Y46D) 34 74 pTK-2895 (R11S/R15T/F17I/Y46D) 34 75 pTK-2896 (R11S/R15T/F17K/Y46D) 34 76 pTK-2897 (R11S/R15T/F17L/Y46D) 34 77 pTK-2898 (R11S/R15T/F17M/Y46D) 34 78 pTK-2899 (R11S/R15T/F17N/Y46D) 34 79 pTK-2900 (R11S/R15T/F17P/Y46D) 34 80 pTK-2901 (R11S/R15T/F17Q/Y46D) 34 81 pTK-2902 (R11S/R15T/F17R/Y46D) 34 82 pTK-2903 (R11S/R15T/F17S/Y46D) 34 83 pTK-2904 (R11S/R15T/F17T/Y46D) 34 84 pTK-2905 (R11S/R15T/F17V/Y46D) 34 85 pTK-2906 (R11S/R15T/F17W/Y46D) 34 86 pTK-2907 (R11S/R15T/F17Y/Y46D) 34 87 pTK-2932 (R11A/R15T/Y46D) 35 88 pTK-2933 (R11C/R15T/Y46D) 35 89 pTK-2934 (R11D/R15T/Y46D) 35 90 pTK-2935 (R11E/R15T/Y46D) 35 91 pTK-2936 (R11F/R15T/Y46D) 35 92 pTK-2937 (R11G/R15T/Y46D) 35 93 pTK-2938 (R11H/R15T/Y46D) 35 94 pTK-2939 (R11I/R15T/Y46D) 35 95 pTK-2940 (R11K/R15T/Y46D) 35 96 pTK-2941 (R11L/R15T/Y46D) 35 97 pTK-2942 (R11M/R15T/Y46D) 35 98 pTK-2943 (R11N/R15T/Y46D) 35 99 pTK-2944 (R11P/R15T/Y46D) 35 100 pTK-2945 (R11Q/R15T/Y46D) 35 101 pTK-2946 (R15T/Y46D) 35 102 pTK-2947 (R11T/R15T/Y46D) 35 103 pTK-2948 (R11V/R15T/Y46D) 35 104 pTK-2949 (R11W/R15T/Y46D) 35 105 pTK-2950 (R11Y/R15T/Y46D) 35 106

7-2) Elastase Inhibitory Activity of Modified F1024S-D2

The 80 modified forms of F1024S-D2 prepared as described above and F1024-D2(3) were evaluated for their elastase inhibitory activity by repeating the procedure of Example 3-2)(3) except that incubation was made for 5 minutes at 37° C. after the addition of the S-2484 solution. It was then confirmed that the fusion proteins (modified F1024S-D2) from the following expression plasmids exhibit elastase inhibitory activity equivalent to that of the F1024S-D2(3).

pTK-2730(R15A), pTK-2737(R151), pTK-2739(R15L), pTK-2740(R15M), pTK-2745(R15T), pTK-2746(R15V), pTK-2866(R11S/R15T/Q19A/Y46D), pTK-2867(R11S/R15T/Q19C/Y46D), pTK-2868(R11S/R15T/Q19D/Y46D), pTK-2869(R11S/R15T/Q19E/Y46D), pTK-2870(R11S/R15T/Q19F/Y46D), pTK-2871(R11S/R15T/Q19G/Y46D), pTK-2872(R11S/R15T/Q19H/Y46D), pTK-2873(R11S/R15T/Q191/Y46D), pTK-2874(R11S/R15T/Q19L/Y46D), pTK-2875(R11S/R15T/Q19M/Y46D), pTK-2876(R11S/R15T/Q19N/Y46D), pTK-2877(R11S/R15T/Q19P/Y46D), pTK-2878(R11S/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2879(R11S/R15T/Q19R/Y46D), pTK-2880(R11S/R15T/Q19S/Y46D), pTK-2881(R11S/R15T/Q19T/Y46D), pTK-2882(R11S/R15T/Q19V/Y46D), pTK-2883(R11S/R15T/Q19W/Y46D), pTK-2884(R11S/R15T/Q19Y/Y46D), pTK-2889(R11S/R15T/F17A/Y46D), pTK-2890(R11S/R15T/F17C/Y46D), pTK-2891(R11S/R15T/F17D/Y46D), pTK-2892(R11S/R15T/F17E/Y46D), pTK-2932(R11A/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2893(R11S/R15T/F17G/Y46D), pTK-2933(R11c/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2895(R11S/R15T/F17H/Y46D), pTK-2934(R11D/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2896(R11S/R15T/F171/Y46D), pTK-2935(R11E/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2897(R11S/R15T/F17L/Y46D), pTK-2936(R11F/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2898(R11S/R15T/F17M/Y46D), pTK-2937(R11G/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2899(R11S/R15T/F17N/Y46D), pTK-2938(R11H/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2900(R11S/R15T/F17P/Y46D), pTK-2939(R11I/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2901(R11S/R15T/F17Q/Y46D), pTK-2940(R11K/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2902(R11S/R15T/F17R/Y46D), pTK-2941(R11L/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2903(R11S/R15T/F17S/Y46D), pTK-2942(R11M/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2904(R11S/R15T/F17T/Y46D), pTK-2943(R11N/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2905(R11S/R15T/F17V/Y46D), pTK-2944(R11P/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2906(R11S/R15T/F17W/Y46D), pTK-2945(R11Q/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2907(R11S/R15T/F17Y/Y46D), pTK-2946(R15T/Y46D), pTK-2947(R11T/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2948(R11V/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2949(R11W/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2950(R11Y/R15T/Y46D), pTK-2824(R11S/R151/Q19K/Y46D), pTK-2825(R11S/R15L/Q19K/Y46D), pTK-2826(R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D), pTK-2827(R11S/R15V/Q19K/Y46D)

In particular, the fusion protein from the expression plasmid pTK-2826 (R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D) exhibited a 50% inhibitory concentration of 4.43 μg/mL in contrast to the 50% inhibitory concentration of F1024S-D2(3) which was 8.90 μg/mL, demonstrating the enhanced elastase inhibitory activity provided by the replacement of the 15th arginine of D2(3) portion with threonine.

FIG. 36 is a view explaining the total amino acid sequence of fusion protein F1024-D2(4) (R11S/R15T/Q19K/Y46D).

Example 8 Antibody Fusion Protein (F1024S-Thrombomodulin (TM) Functional Domain)

8-1) Construction of F1024S-TM Expression Plasmid

In order to produce fusion proteins of anti-CD14 antibody (F1024S) with various functional domains of TM, PCR was conducted by using HeLa genomic DNA for the template and the primer pair (TM-b and TM-g) to amplify full gene length of the human thrombomodulin (hereinafter referred to as TM), and the amplification product was cloned in pT7-Blue vector by TA cloning. After confirming the sequence, this plasmid was designated pT7-TM.

Next, PCR was conducted by using pT7-TM for the template and the primer pair (TMD123456 and TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2), and after cleaving the thus amplified fragment with restriction enzymes BamHI and BglII and mixing with the preliminarily prepared vector (prepared by cleaving the pTK-2354 described in Example 1, Table 3 with restriction enzyme BamHI, followed by dephosphorylation), and the fragment was ligated using T4 DNA ligase to thereby produce plasmid pTK-2754 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM123456M) comprising F1024S having the region of 227th cysteine to 462nd cysteine (Cys²²⁷ to Cys⁴⁶²) in the amino acid sequence of TM added thereto. This procedure was repeated by using the primer pair (TMD123456 and TM domain 3-NotI Bgl2) to prepare a plasmid pTK-2755 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM1234567M) having the region of 227th cysteine to 497th serine (Cys²²⁷ to Ser⁴⁹⁷) of the amino acid sequence added thereto; by using the primer pair (TMD23456 and TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2756 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM23456M) having the region of 263rd threonine to 462nd cysteine (Thr²⁶³ to Cys⁴⁶²) of the amino acid sequence added thereto; by using the primer pair (TMD23456 and TM domain 3-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2757 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM234567M) having the region of 263rd threonine to 497th serine (Thr²⁶³ to Ser⁴⁹⁷) added thereto; by using the primer pair (TMD3456 and TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2758 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM3456M) having the region of 306th glutamine to 462nd cysteine (Glu³⁰⁶ to Cys⁴⁶²) added thereto; by using the primer pair (TMD3456 and TM domain 3-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2759 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM34567M) having the region of 306th glutamine to 497th serine (Glu³⁰⁶ to Ser⁴⁹⁷) added thereto; by using the primer pair (TMD456 and TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2760 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM456M) having the region of 345th valine to 462nd cysteine (Val³⁴⁵ to Cys⁴⁶²) added thereto; and by using the primer pair (TMD456 and TM domain 3-NotI Bgl2) to prepare plasmid pTK-2761 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM4567M) having the region of 345th valine to 497th serine (Val³⁴⁵ to Ser⁴⁹⁷) added thereto.

In the meanwhile, in order to prevent decrease in the activity by the oxidation of TM, the mutant (M388L) in which 388th methionine (Met³⁸⁸) in the amino acid sequence has been substituted with leucine (Leu) was also produced by the procedure as described below (Clarke, J H. et al., J. Biol. Chem. 268, 6309-6315 (1993)), namely, by conducting

PCR using pT7-TM for the template and each of the primer pairs [TMD123456 and TM(M388L)-a] and [TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2 and TM(M388L)-s], mixing each of the amplification products, and again conducting PCR using the primer pair (TMD123456 and TM domain 2-NotI Bgl2). The gene fragment coding for the region of 227th cysteine to 462nd cysteine (Cys²²⁷ to Cys⁴⁶²) which included the M388L mutation was thereby amplified. As in the case described above, this fragment was cleaved with restriction enzymes BamHI and BglII and ligated to the vector using a ligase to construct plasmid pTK-2762 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM123456L) comprising the antibody molecule F1024S having added thereto the region of the TM from 227th cysteine to 462nd cysteine (Cys²²⁷ to Cys⁴⁶²) including the M388L mutation.

The plasmids finally constructed were pTK-2763 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (F1024S-TM1234567L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2755; pTK-2764 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM23456L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2756; pTK-2765 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM234567L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2757; pTK-2766 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM3456L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2758; pTK-2767 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM34567L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2759; and pTK-2768 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM456L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2760; and pTK-2769 which was capable of expressing the heavy chain of the fusion protein (designated F1024S-TM4567L) including the mutation of M388L introduced in the pTK-2761.

The sequences of the primers used are shown in Table 10, and the fusion proteins of the anti-CD14 antibody (F1024S) and the expression plasmids are shown in Table 11.

The amino acid sequences of the fusion proteins of the anti-CD14 antibody (F1024S) are shown in FIGS. 37 to 44 and Sequence Listing.

FIG. 45 is a view explaining the total amino acid sequence of fusion protein F1024-TM23456L.

TABLE 10 SEQ Primer Name Base Sequence ID TM-b 5′ TTTCCCCGGCGCCTGCACGC 3′ 191 TM-g 5′ TCCTGGACGGAGGCCGCTCAG 3′ 192 TMD123456 5′ GGGATCCTGCAGCGTGGAGAACGGCGGCT 3′ 193 TMD23456 5′ GGGATCCACCGCATCCGCGACGCAGTCCT 3′ 194 TMD3456 5′ GGGATCCGAGGACGTGGATGACTGCATAC 3′ 195 TMD456 5′ GGGATCCGTGGAGCCCGTGGACCCGTGCT 3′ 196 TMdomain2- 5′ GGAGATCTGCGGCCGCTCAACAGTCGGTGCCAATG 3′ 197 Not1Bg12 TMdomain3- 5′ GGAGATCTGCGGCCGCTCACGAATGCACGAGCCCC 3′ 198 Not1Bg12 TM(M388L)-s 5′ CCGCACAGGTGCCAGCTGTTTTGCAACCAGACT 3′ 199 TM(M388L)-a 5′ AGTCTGGTTGCAAAACAGCTGGCACCTGTGCGG 3′ 200

TABLE 11 F1024S Fusion Protein Plasmid Name Name FIG. No. SEQ ID F1024S-TM123456M pTK-2754 37 107 F1024S-TM123456L pTK-2762 37 108 F1024S-TM1234567M pTK-2755 38 109 F1024S-TM1234567L pTK-2763 38 110 F1024S-TM23456M pTK-2756 39 111 F1024S-TM23456L pTK-2764 39 112 F1024S-TM234567M pTK-2757 40 113 F1024S-TM234567L pTK-2765 40 114 F1024S-TM3456M pTK-2758 41 115 F1024S-TM3456L pTK-2766 41 116 F1024S-TM34567M pTK-2759 42 117 F1024S-TM34567L pTK-2767 42 118 F1024S-TM456M pTK-2760 43 119 F1024S-TM456L pTK-2768 43 120 F1024S-TM4567M pTK-2761 44 121 F1024S-TM4567L pTK-2769 44 122

These plasmids were cotransfected in COS-1 cell with the light chain expression plasmid (pTK-2344) to express F1024S-TM in the culture supernatant. This supernatant was purified using Prosep-A column for use in the subsequent assay.

The binding test using EIA confirmed that the fusion proteins had the binding activity for the CD14 antigen.

8-2) Measurement of Thrombomodulin (TM) Activity

TM activity was measured by using action of the thrombomodulin (TM) forming a complex with thrombin in blood to activate protein C which is the blood coagulation inhibitory factor for the index of the activity. The measurement was conducted as described below.

The reaction for the activity measurement was conducted in a multitube. The fusion protein was diluted with 25 mmol/L Tris-HCl buffer solution containing 0.14 mol/L sodium chloride, 10 mmol/L calcium chloride, and 1 mg/mL bovine serum alubumin (pH 7.4). To 40 μL of the specimen, 10 μL of 6 U/mL human thrombin (SIGMA) was added and preincubation was conducted at 37° C. for 10 minutes. Next, 10 μL of 24 μg/mL protein C (American Diagnostica Inc.) was added, and the mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 5 minutes. 40 μL of the mixture of 0.15 U/mL antithrombin III (Green Cross Corporation) and 15 U/mL heparin (Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was added and the mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. 100 μL of 3.2 mmol/L activated protein C substrate S-2366 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) was added, and after incubating the mixture at 37° C. for 10 minutes, the reaction was terminated by adding 200 μL of 50% acetic acid. 300 μL of the reaction solution was transferred to 96-well flat plate, and absorbance at 405 nm was measured using a plate reader (Molecular Devices Corporation). Human thrombomodulin MR-33 (Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was used for the positive control. It was then found that all F1024S-TM fusion proteins have the activity of promoting the protein C activation, and F1024S-TM23456M, F1024S-TM234567M, F1024S-TM23456L, and F1024S-TM234567L have high activity for promoting the protein C activation. The M388L mutants also exhibited relatively high activity (FIG. 46).

Example 9 Alteration of Linker Portion in Antibody Fusion Protein (F1024S-SLPI)

9-1) Construction of Expression Plasmid Linker SG-4-s (5′ pGATCTGGAGGTGGAG 3′, SEQ ID NO: 201, with phosphorylated 5′ terminal) and linker SG-4-a (5′ pGATCCTCCACCTCCA 3′, SEQ ID NO: 202, with phosphorylated 5′ terminal) were mixed and, and the mixture was incubated at 96.degree ° C. for 2 minutes. The temperature was gradually reduced to room temperature for annealing. An adequate amount of the mixture was mixed with the preliminarily prepared vector fragment (which had been prepared by cleaving the pT7-SLPI(D2) described in Example 1 with restriction enzyme BglII, dephosphorylating, subjecting to agarose gel electrophoresis, and extracting the fragment from the gel), and the fragment was ligated with T4 DNA ligase. By this procedure, plasmid pTK-2729 comprising SLPI(D2) having 1 copy of GGGGS linker, SEQ ID NO: 203, added thereto was constructed. This pTK-2729 was cleaved with restriction enzyme BglII, and by repeating the procedure as described above, pTK-2749 comprising SLPI(D2) having 2 copies of GGGGS, SEQ ID NO: 203, linker added thereto, and pTK-2750 comprising SLPI(D2) having 3 copies of GGGGS, SEQ ID NO: 203, linker added thereto were constructed.

Next, pTK-2729, pTK-2749, and pTK-2750 were cleaved with restriction enzymes BglII and NotI to prepare gene fragments coding for the part of the linker plus SLPI(D2) (The resulting fragments are respectively designated fragment 1, fragment 2, and fragment 3). As in the case of the construction of the pTK-2396 in Example 1 (Table 3), the gene fragments A and D were ligated with each fragment by T4 DNA ligase to construct plasmids expressing heavy chain of the F1024S-SLPI(D2) with modified linker respectively having linkers GSGGGGS, SEQ ID NO: 204, GSGGGGSGGGGS, SEQ ID NO: 205, and GSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS, SEQ ID NO: 206, between the antibody molecule and the SLPI(D2) (respectively designated pTK-2751, pTK-2752, and pTK-2753).

These plasmids were cotransfected in COS-1 cell with the light chain expression plasmid (pTK-2344) to express F1024S-SLPI(D2) with modified linker in the culture supernatant, and the supernatant was purified by Prosep-A column.

All purification products were confirmed to have the binding activity for the CD14 antigen.

Tables 12 and 13 show SEQ ID NOS of the primers and the linkers.

TABLE 12 Primer Name Base Sequence SEQ ID LinkerSG- 5′ pGATCTGGAGGTGGAG 3′ 201 4-s LinkerSG- 5′ pGATCCTCCACCTCCA 3′ 202 4-a

TABLE 13 Linker Base Sequence SEQ ID GGGGS 203 GSGGGGS 204 GSGGGGSGGGGS 205 GSGGGGSGGGGSGGGGS 206

9-2) Elastase Inhibitory Activity of F1024S-SLPI

1024D-SLPI(D1D2), F1024D-SLPI(D2), F1024S-SLPI(D1D2), and F1024S-SLPI(D2), and furthermore, the fusion protein of SLPI(D2) having 1, 2, or 3 copies of GGGGS linker added thereto were evaluated for their elastase inhibitory activity by repeating the procedure of Example 3-2)(3) except that the incubation at 37° C. after the addition of the S-2484 solution was conducted for 5 minutes.

The control was prepared by mixing 10 μL of the elastase solution to 80 μL of the diluting solution, incubating at 37° C. for 3 minutes, adding 10 μL of the S-2484 solution, and incubating at 37° C. for exactly 5 minutes, and thereafter adding 50 μL of 20% acetic acid solution. The 50% inhibitory concentrations of F1024S-SLPI(D1D2) and F1024S-SLPI(D2) were 22.5 μg/mL and 26.9 μg/mL, respectively, and the 50% inhibitory concentrations of the fusion proteins of SLPI(D2) having 1, 2, and 3 copies of GGGGS linker added thereto were 11.6 μg/mL, 11.9 μg/mL, and 11.6 μg/mL, respectively.

Example 10 Preparation of Humanized Antibody (hF1024S-D2(3))

The amino acid sequences of the heavy chain and the light chain variable regions of the rat antibody F1024-1-3 were searched on the data base, and these sequences were respectively determined to have high homology with human antibodies IGHV7-81 (BC032733) and HUMIGRFFM (L48242). Accordingly, humanization was conducted by transplanting the 3 complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of both chains of the antibody F1024 to each framework (FR) of (1) IGHV7-81 and HUMIGRFFM (hereinafter referred to as RF) or (2) NEW, Eu, and REI which have been thoroughly analyzed by crystal structure analysis (see FIG. 47). The nucleotide sequence was designed based on each amino acid sequence (FIG. 48), and all of the 6 gene fragments were prepared by dividing the nucleotide sequence into several parts and synthesizing them. Each fragment was replaced with the variable region of the heavy chain pTK-2370 and the light chain pTK-2344 to construct the expression plasmid (heavy chain: pTK-2887 for IGHV7-81-HA, pTK-2679 for NEW-HA, and pTK-2685 for Eu-HA; light chain: pTK-2955 for RF-KA, pTK-2680 for REI-KA, and pTK-2681 for Eu-KA). COS-1 cell was cotransfected with various combinations of such plasmids and the chimeric antibody expression plasmids (pTK-2370 for heavy chain and pTK-2344 for light chain), and the antibodies secreted in the supernatant were compared for their binding activity to GPVI antigen.

With regard to the heavy chain, significant decrease in the amount of the expression by the humanization was found in all cases. In view of such situation, various mutations were introduced in the FR, and the results were examined. In the meanwhile, expression and binding activity were confirmed for the light chain.

For three humanized heavy chain expression plasmids, the sequences maintaining the expression and the binding activity (pTK-2909 for IGHV7-81-HC, pTK-3007 for IGHV7-81-HX, pTK-2803 for NEW-HB, and pTK-2811 for Eu-HB) could be finally obtained by constructing a large number of mutants in which part of the human-specific sequence in FR was returned to the sequence from the rat and precisely analyzing such constructs (FIG. 49 shows the amino acid sequence).

Finally, combinations of the humanized heavy chain and the humanized light chain were examined, and the combination exhibiting the highest expression and binding activity was the combination of IGHV7-81-HX with RF-KA or other light chain.

The antibody portion of other antibody fusion proteins are humanized by a similar procedure.

Example 11 Production of Strain which is Capable of Stably Producing Antibody Fusion Protein F1024S-D2(3) at High Yield

1-1 Production of Plasmid (pTK-2671) which is Capable of Stably Expressing F1024S-D2(3) at High Yield

PCR was conducted by using a transient expression plasmid (pTK-2370, described in Example 1) for expressing heavy chain of F1024S-D2(3) for the template and using the primer pair (F1024H-kozak, IgG4-1) shown in Table 14. The amplification product was cleaved with restriction enzymes EcoRI and NheI, and after the agarose gel electrophoresis, the gene fragment (fragment U) comprising the heavy chain variable region of the antibody F1024 was extracted. SEQ ID NOS of the primers used are shown in Table 14.

TABLE 14 Primer SEQ Name Base Sequence ID F1024H- 5′ GGGGAATTCGCCGCCACCATGGATTGGTTGTGGAA 3′ 207 kozak IgG4-1 5′ GCTGTGCTCTCGGAGGTGCT 3′ 208

pTK-2370 was cleaved with restriction enzymes NheI and Sse8387I, and after agarose gel electrophoresis, gene fragment (fragment V) comprising the heavy chain constant region of the F1024S-D2(3), the gene sequence coding for the D2(3), and SV40 polyA signal was extracted. Plasmid (pTK-2344 described in Example 1) expressing the light chain of F1024 was cleaved with restriction enzymes BsiWI and NcoI, and after agarose gel electrophoresis, the gene fragment (fragment W) comprising the light chain variable region of the antibody F1024 was extracted.

Plasmid (pTK-2577) comprising EF promoter, human light chain constant region, and mouse DHFR expression unit (comprising SV40 promoter (not including enhancer region) as promoter, and polyA signal from SV40) was cleaved with restriction enzymes BsiWI and EcoRI, and after agarose gel electrophoresis, the vector fragment (fragment X) of interest was extracted. In the meanwhile, this plasmid was also cleaved with Sse8387I and NcoI, and after the agarose gel electrophoresis, gene fragment (fragment Y) comprising EF promoter region was extracted.

The gene fragments U to Y were ligated into one fragment using T4 DNA ligase (TAKARA BIO INC.) to construct plasmid (pTK-2671) for stable expression which was capable of simultaneously expressing the heavy chain and the light chain of the F1024S-D2(3), and which contained mouse DHFR expression unit serving as a marker in the cell into which the plasmid was to be introduced.

By using a similar procedure, plasmids capable of stable expression at a high yield are also constructed for other antibody fusion proteins.

Example 12 Evaluation of Efficacy (In Vitro)

12-1) Confirmation of Inhibitory Action for Bradykinin Production

(1) Confirmation of Inhibitory Action for Bradykinin Production in Human and Rabbit Plasmas Induced by APTT Reagent

The normal human plasma used was Dade Ci-Trol Level 1 (DADE BEHRING INC.). The rabbit plasma was prepared by collecting blood from auricular artery of male rabbit (New Zealand white, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) using a syringe containing 1/10 volume of 3.8% sodium citrate (sodium citrate for measuring erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Iwaki Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), and centrifuging the blood for 10 minutes at 4° C. and 3000 rpm (05PR-22, Hitachi). After adding o-phenanthroline solution to 80 μL of human or rabbit plasma, F1024S-D2(3) solution which had been serially diluted with the diluting solution was added to final concentrations of 0, 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/mL, or human immunoglobulin (hIg) was added to a final concentration of 30 μg/mL. After stirring, the plasma was incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. 80 μL of APTT reagent diluted with Milli-Q Water was added, and the plasma was further incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. 100 μL of the plasma was collected, and 20 μL of deproteinizing agent attached to the bradykinin measurement kit (Markit-M bradykinin, Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was added, and this plasma was centrifuged at 4° C. and 10000 rpm (MRX-150, TOMY) for 10 minutes. The resulting supernatant was measured for bradykinin concentration by using the bradykinin measurement kit. It was then found that F1024S-D2(3) inhibits bradykinin production in human and rabbit plasmas induced by APTT reagent in a concentration dependent manner (FIGS. 50 and 51).

12-2) Confirmation of Coagulation Inhibitory Action

(1) Confirmation of Inhibitory Action for (Factor XI Dependent) Thrombin Production in Human Plasma Induced by Thromboplastin

To each of the human plasma containing human platelet at 3×10⁵/μL and the rabbit plasma containing rabbit platelet at 3×10⁵/μL, the F1024S-D2(3) solution was added to final concentrations of 0, 3, 10, 30, 100, and 300 μg/mL, or human immunoglobulin (hIg) was added to a final concentration of 300 μg/mL. The plasma was then pre-incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. Incubation was started at 37° C. after adding a solution of thromboplastin (Simplastin Exel, BIOMERIEUX, INC.) diluted 8000 folds with 25 mmol/L CaCl₂ solution. 5 μL of the incubated solution was collected before the addition of the thromboplastin solution and with time after the addition of the thromboplastin solution, and added to a mixture of 100 μL of Buffer B (50 mmol/L Tris-HCl buffer solution (pH 7.9) containing 0.5 mg/mL BSA, 0.1 mol/L NaCl, and 20 mmol/L EDTA) and 25 μL of 2 mmol/L S-2238, and the mixture was incubated at 37° C. for 10 minutes. After adding 100 μL of 50 vol % acetic acid, the reaction solution was added to a 96-well plate at 200 μL/well, and the absorbance at 405 nm was measured by a plate reader (Thermomax microplate reader, Molecular Devices Corporation). It was then found that F1024S-D2(3) inhibits thrombin production in human and rabbit plasmas induced by thromboplastin in a concentration dependent manner (FIGS. 52 to 53).

12-3) Confirmation of Coagulation Inhibitory Action

(1) Confirmation of Human APTT Extending Action

APTT extending actions of F1024S-TM23456M, F1024S-TM23456L, F1024S-TM234567M and F1024S-TM234567L prepared in Example 8 were respectively evaluated at final concentrations of 2.00, 2.00, 1.95, and 2.29 μg/mL by the procedure similar to that of Example 3-3) (1) using human normal human plasma. As a consequence, APTT was extended by 26, 32, 42, and 57% by the 4 fusion proteins, respectively.

Example 13 Evaluation of Effectiveness in Ex Vivo Test

13-1) Confirmation of Antiinflammatory Action of F1024S-D2(3)

10 mg/kg of F1024S-D2(3) was administered to rabbit (New Zealand white, 1.8 to 2.6 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) from auricular vein, and the blood was collected with time with addition of citric acid. LPS (WE. coli 055:B5, DIFCO) was added to the collected blood to a final concentration of 1 ng/mL, and the blood was incubated at 37° C. for 4 hours. The blood was centrifuged at 4° C. and 10000 rpm (MRX-150, TOMY) for 10 minutes, and the resulting plasma was measured for its TNF-α concentration by ELISA using anti-rabbit TNF-α antibody. It was then found that production of TNF-α was suppressed in the LPS-stimulated blood until 24 hours after the administration of the F1024S-D2(3) (FIG. 54).

13-2) Confirmation of Anticoagulant Action of F1024S-D2 (3)

The plasma obtained by centrifugation immediately after the blood collection in Example 13-1) was used for the measurement of activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT). The measurement of the APTT was conducted by repeating the procedure of Example 3-3). Extension of APTT was found until 8 hours after the administration of the F1024S-D2(3) (FIG. 55).

Example 14 Evaluation of in vivo effectiveness

14-1) Rabbit CLP (Cecal Ligation and Puncture) Model

Rabbit CLP (cecal ligation and puncture) peritonitis model was produced, and improvement in the survival rate and coagulation parameter after the administration of the F1024S-D2(3) was confirmed.

The rabbit peritonitis model by cecal ligation and puncture was produced by the method of Keith, A. et al. (Journal of Surgical Research, 29: 189, 1980) by puncturing cecum of a rabbit (New Zealand white, 1.8 to 2.6 kg, Kitayama Labes Co., Ltd.) under anesthesia, and sprinkling the content of the cecum in the abdominal cavity. After 2 hours, 10 mg/kg of F1024S-D2(3) was administered to auricular vein, and after this, F1024S-D2(3) was administered twice a day for 3 days. The control group was administered with human immunoglobulin (hIg) instead of the F1024S-D2(3). The survival was monitored and recorded for 72 hours to depict Kaplan-Meier survival curve. At 8 hours after the cecal ligation and puncture, blood was collected with addition of citric acid, and D dimer was measured as coagulation parameter of the plasma. It was then found that both the survival rate (FIG. 56) and the D dimer (FIG. 57) were improved in the group administered with the F1024S-D2(3) compared to the control group.

The overview of the control group of FIGS. 56 and 57 is shown in Table 15.

TABLE 15 Test Number Group Treatment Antibiotic substance Dose of cases 1 Sham 60 mg/kg Human 10 mg/kg, 9 2 Cecal Immuno- twice, 3 9 ligation and globulin days puncture preparation 3 peritonitis FR1024S- 8 D2(3)

Example 15

A polypeptide, Y46E, having an amino acid sequence derived from the formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Glu for the position 42 Tyr of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 2 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

Formula 1 (amino acids 478-528) of SEQ ID NO: 10 Cys Asn Leu Pro Ile Val Arg Gly Pro Cys Arg Ala Phe Ile Gln Leu Trp Ala Phe Asp Ala Val Lys Gly Lys Cys Val Leu Phe Pro Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gln Gly Asn Gly Asn Lys Phe Tyr Ser Glu Lys Glu Cys Arg Glu Tyr Cys

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained was the polypeptide of interest Y46E (amino acids 1-70 of SEQ ID NO: 234).

A polypeptide, Q19K, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Lys for the position 15 Gln of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 3 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained was the polypeptide Q19K of the present invention (amino acids 1-70 of SEQ ID NO: 235).

A polypeptide, Q19R, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Arg for the position 15 Gln of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 4 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was thus confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide Q19R of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 236).

A polypeptide, Q19K/Y46E, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Glu for position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 5 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide Q19K/Y46E of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 237).

A polypeptide, R11E/Y46E, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Glu for the position 7 Arg, as well as Glu for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 6 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the desired polypeptide R11E/Y46E of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 238).

A polypeptide, Y46E-AN, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Glu for the position 42 Tyr of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 7 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the desired polypeptide Y46E-AN of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 250).

A polypeptide, Q19K-AN, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Lys for the position 15 Gln of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 8 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide Q19K-AN of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 251).

A polypeptide, Q19R/Y46E, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Arg for the position 15 Gln, as well as Glu for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 9 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample is the polypeptide Q19R/Y46E (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 239).

A polypeptide, Q19K/Y46D, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Asp for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 10 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified sample is the polypeptide Q19K/Y46D of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 240).

A polypeptide, Q19R/Y46D, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Arg for the position 15 Gln, as well as Asp for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 11 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide Q19R/Y46D of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 241).

A polypeptide, R11Q/Q19K/Y46D, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Gln for the position 7 Arg, Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Asp for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 12 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide R11Q/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 242).

A polypeptide, R11D/Q19K/Y46D, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Asp for the position 7 Arg, Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Asp for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, side was prepared as described in Example 13 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide R11D/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 243).

A polypeptide, R11L/Q19K/Y46D, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Leu for the position 7 Arg, Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Asp for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 14 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample obtained is the polypeptide R11L/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 244).

A polypeptide, R11E/Q19K/Y46E, having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Glu for the 7 position Arg, Lys for the position 15 Gln, as well as Glu for the position 42 Tyr, of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, was prepared as described in Example 15 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

It was confirmed that the purified polypeptide sample is the desired polypeptide R11E/Q19K/Y46E of the present invention (amino acids 1-68 of SEQ ID NO: 245).

Polypeptides R11N/Q19K/Y46D (SEQ ID NO: 248), R11S/Q19K/Y46D (SEQ ID NO: 246) and R11A/Q19K/Y46D (SEQ ID NO: 249) having an amino acid sequence derived from the aforementioned formula I amino acid sequence by substituting Asn, Ser and Ala for the position 7 Arg, respectively, in addition to substituting Lys for the position 15 Gln and Asp for the position 42 Tyr of the formula I sequence, counting from its N-terminus, were prepared as described in Example 16 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

FXa-inhibiting activities of the polypeptide of the present invention were measured in the following manner, using polypeptide samples Y46E, Q19K, Q19R, Q19K/Y46E, R11E/Y46E, Y46E-AN, Q19K-AN, Q19R/Y46E, Q19K/Y46D, Q19R/Y46D, R11Q/Q19K/Y46D, R11D/Q19K/Y46D, R11L/Q19K/Y46D, R11E/Q19K/Y46E, R11N/Q19K/Y46D, R11S/Q19K/Y46D and R11A/Q19K/Y46D.

The purified polypeptide of the present invention was dissolved in 100 μl of distilled water. Polypeptide concentration of this solution was determined based on its bovine trypsin-inhibiting activity using the aforementioned UTI as a standard as described in Example 17(1) of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al. The thus prepared solution was then diluted to various concentration levels with 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl₂/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) for use in the activity measurement. On the other hand, the purified polypeptide TN70 and AN68 were diluted to various concentration levels to be used as a control solution. In this case a polypeptide TN70 (cf. Japanese Patent Application No. 3-325220) was purified respectively in accordance with the procedure of Example 2(4) in JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al. from a culture supernatant of E. coli JE5505(pM552) (deposit No., FERM BP-3561) and polypeptide AN68 was purified in accordance with the procedure of Example 2(4) in JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al. from a culture supernatant of E. coli JE5505(pM594) obtained by transforming E. coli JE5505 with the aforementioned plasmid pM594 obtained as described in Example 4 of JP 6-25289 A to Morishita et al.

The amino acid sequence of polypeptide TN 70 and AN68 are represented below.

Polypeptide TN70 (amino acids 474-543 of SEQ ID NO: 10)

Thr Val Ala Ala Cys Asn Leu Pro Ile Val Arg Gly Pro Cys Arg Ala Phe Ile Gln Leu Trp Ala Phe Asp Ala Val Lys Gly Lys Cys Val Leu Phe Pro Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gln Gly Asn Gly Asn Lys Phe Tyr Ser Glu Lys Glu Cys Arg Glu Tyr Cys Gly Val Pro Gly Asp Gly Asp Glu Glu Leu Leu Arg Phe Ser Asn

Polypeptide An68 (amino acids 476-543 of SEQ ID NO: 10)

Ala Ala Cys Asn Leu Pro Ile Val Arg Gly Pro Cys Arg Ala Phe Ile Gln Leu Trp Ala Phe Asp Ala Val Lys Gly Lys Cys Val Leu Phe Pro Tyr Gly Gly Cys Gln Gly Asn Gly Asn Lys Phe Tyr Ser Glu Lys Glu Cys Arg Glu Tyr Cys Gly Val Pro Gly Asp Gly Asp Glu Glu Leu Leu Arg Phe Ser Asn

Using a synthetic compound S-2222 (Daiichi Pure Chemicals Co., Ltd.) as a substrate, FXa-inhibiting activities in the thus prepared test sample solution and control solution were measured in accordance with the method of Ohno et al. (Ohno H. et al., Thromb. Res., vol. 19, pp. 579-588, 1980) as follows. First, human FXa (American Diagnostica Inc.) was dissolved in distilled water to a final concentration of 10 PEU/ml and the solution was further diluted with the aforementioned 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl₂/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) to prepare 0.1 PEU/ml of FXa solution. Separately from this, a 4 mM solution of S-2222 was prepared by dissolving it in distilled water and the solution was further diluted with the 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl₂/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) to obtain a 2 mM solution of S-2222.

Next, 25 μl of the test sample or control solution was mixed with 100 μl of the 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl₂/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) and 25 μl of the FXa solution. After incubating statically at 37° C. for 10 minutes, 100 μl of the S-2222 solution was added to start the reaction. The reaction was carried out at 37° C. for 30 minutes and then stopped by adding 50 μl of 50% acetic acid solution to the reaction mixture. Thereafter, absorbance at a wavelength of 405 nm was measured using a spectrophotometer. In this instance, in order to eliminate absorbancy of various contents in the reaction mixture other than the reaction product, a blank solution was prepared by mixing 25 μl of the FXa solution with 50 μl of 50% acetic acid and then with 25 μl of each test sample or the control solution, 100 μl of the 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl2/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) and with 100 μl of the S-2222 solution.

The results are shown in FIG. 58-66. In these figures, polypeptide concentration in the reaction solution was expressed as its bovine trypsin-inhibiting activity. Also, residual human FXa activity was expressed by percentage based on the absorbance of a control reaction mixture in which 25 μl of the 0.1% BSA/150 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl2/50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 8.3) was used instead of the test sample.

FIG. 58 shows the polypeptide Y46E of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide TN70 used as a control. In other words, it has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about seven times higher than that of the polypeptide TN70.

FIG. 59 shows the polypeptide Q19K of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide TN70 used as a control. In other words, it has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about five times higher than that of the polypeptide TN70.

FIG. 60 shows the polypeptide Q19R of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, it has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about six times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 61 shows the polypeptide Q19K/Y46E of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, it has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about ten times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 62 shows the polypeptide R11E/Y46E of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, it has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about three times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 63 shows the polypeptide Q19R/Y46E of the present invention has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about ten times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 64 shows the polypeptides Q19K/Y46D and Q19R/Y46D of the present invention have significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, polypeptide Q19K/Y46D has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about twenty times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68. Polypeptide Q19R/Y46D has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about 18 times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 65 shows the polypeptides R11Q/Q19K/Y46D, R11L/Q19K/Y46D, R11D/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention have significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, polypeptide R11Q/Q19K/Y46D of the present invention has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about twenty times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68. The polypeptide R11D/Q19K/Y46D has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about 5 times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68. The polypeptide R11L/Q19K/Y46D has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about 16 times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68.

FIG. 66 shows the polypeptides R11E/Q19K/Y46E of the present invention has significantly high FXa-inhibiting activity in comparison with the polypeptide AN68 used as a control. In other words, polypeptide R11E/Q19K/Y46E has an FXa-inhibiting activity which is about 13 times higher than that of the polypeptide AN68. 

1. A fusion protein comprising: (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment, wherein said antibody or the fragment has an antigen binding activity and an inhibitory activity for LPS-induced IL-6 production in a TLR expressing cell and (II) an inhibitor for a protease consisting of any one of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of the amino acid sequences of the mutant UTI domain 2 of SEQ ID NOS: 27-106.
 2. A fusion protein comprising: (I) an anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment, wherein said antibody or the fragment has an antigen binding activity and an inhibitory activity for LPS-induced IL-6 production in a TLR expressing cell, and (II) an inhibitor for a protease selected from a mutant of 4 amino acid substitutions (hereinafter referred to “UTI-D2(4)”) (R11S/R15I/Q19K/Y46D) represented by the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:46, UTI-D2(4) (R11S/R15L/Q19K/Y46D) represented by the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 47, UTI-D2(4) (R11S/R15T/Q19/Y46D) represented by the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 48, or UTI-D2 (4) (R11S/R15V/Q19K/Y46D) represented by the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
 49. 3. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the protein has an inhibitory activity for LPS-induced IL-6 production in a TLR expressing cell, and an anti-inflammatory action or an inhibitory action for inflammatory protease.
 4. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the protein has an elastase inhibitory action or TNF-α production inhibitory action.
 5. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein said fusion protein has the action of inhibiting the binding between CD14 and the TLR.
 6. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein said anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) has the action of inhibiting the binding between CD14 and the TLR.
 7. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) recognizes at least a part of the region represented by from 269th to 315th amino acid residues of the amino acid sequence of human CD14.
 8. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) recognizes at least a part of the region represented by from 294th to 296th amino acid residues of the amino acid sequence of human CD14.
 9. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) comprises CDR1 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 173, CDR2 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 174, and CDR3 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 175 of the heavy chain as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 in the heavy chain variable region, and CDR1 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 176, CDR2 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 177, CDR3 consisting of SEQ ID NO: 178 of the light chain as the CDR1, CDR2, and CDR3 in the light chain variable region.
 10. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) a chimeric antibody.
 11. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) is a humanized antibody.
 12. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) is monovalent.
 13. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I) is divalent.
 14. The fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein the protease inhibitor in (II) is fused to the C terminal side of the heavy chain of an anti-CD14 antibody or its CD14 binding fragment in (I).
 15. A polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide which codes for a fusion protein according to claim
 1. 16. A vector which comprises the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 17. A cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 18. A method for producing the fusion protein according to claim 1 which uses any one of the polynucleotide of claim
 15. 19. A therapeutic agent for a disease comprising any one of the fusion protein of claim
 1. 20. A therapeutic agent for a disease, wherein the disease is sepsis, severe sepsis, septic ARDS, septic shock, SIRS related disease, endotoxin shock or ARDS. 